Hunting For Gold
by JessicaStone134
Summary: He's free once more. Free to get the woman who put him behind bars 25 years ago. Free to hurt her, to draw her to him, by hurting her through her officers. Free to kill her officers in order to kill her. Free to catch the Dragon. Can he be caught in time?
1. The Dragon

A wannabe killer on the loose, hunting. Always hunting, taking what he shouldn't: lives; aiming to hurt the woman who put him away for over twenty five years, who tore his life apart. That women put him in a place worse than hell, where men treated you as if you were a piece of meat they could use for their sexual satisfaction simply because there weren't any women around. A place where a trip to the showers was like a trip into the boxing ring; if you weren't liked you always came out with a battered face. Did the guards do anything? No of course they didn't. But he had bade his time, been a good boy, and now he was out. And he had found her, oh yes he had. She didn't think she would see him again, probably forgotten about him. But she wouldn't be able to forget him, not after what he was about to do to her, to her officers. Let's see how long it takes her to realise, oh yes, let's wait. Inspector Gold was a smart one though, it shouldn't take her long to connect the dots.


	2. Predator

**Thanks to Hollie and Jo for the lovely starting reviews. I'm excited about this story, which is why I've done the first chapter so quickly. Enjoy!**

A good night had been had by all. Well, if you were out with Beth, Will, Nate, Jess, Sally and the others, a good night was pretty much guaranteed. They had been out since eight that evening, first they had dinner before going on to the club. There were joined by members of CID; Max, Jo, Stevie, Mickey, Terry and a few others. Even the Inspector had shown up! But tonight was a celebratory night: one of the biggest crime families in Sun Hill had been taken down due to a lot of hard work and collaboration between CID and uniform. Gina was proud of her troops, I mean she was proud of them all the time (though she didn't show it), but tonight, well, they had made the streets a much safer place, they had made an active difference. She felt like a mother who was proud of her children, something she had never had the chance to actively experience, but she thought it would feel something like this.

*

The Inspector and a few of the older members of the team had gone home at around eleven, citing that they had work the next day so wanted to have a clear head. As Terry left, Will started taunting him, "Terry, are you really leaving because you've got work tomorrow, or because you're getting too old to keep up with us young'uns?"

Terry turned to face Will slowly, his left eyebrow raised, his mouth set in a dead line, "William, let's see who feels old tomorrow. You my friend, are going to have one hell of a hangover which will make you feel like you are ninety. I, on the other hand, will be fresh as a daisy, feeling not a day over twenty one." Terry said completely dead pan. Will looked confused for a minute, letting his drink addled mind process what Terry was saying. Then he shook his head.

"Nah Terry my old mucker. I'm gonna be absolutely fine tomorrow, you wait." Will slurred, leaning heavily on Callum, who didn't look amused.

"Will, if you're sick on me..." he growled menacingly.

"Chill sarge, it's all good. I'm never sick!" Will said happily.

*

Half an hour later, Will emerged from the toilets a bit green around the gills. Callum was leaning against the bar with Jess, and when he saw Will he turned round, a big grin on his face.

"Jess, I'm pretty sure Will said that he's never sick. Did you hear that as well?" Callum asked, mock-confused.

Jess put a finger on her lips, as if thinking about it, "Hmm, now you mention it, I'm sure he always brags how he can hold his drink."

Will staggered to the bar, leaning on the bar stool, "Alright fine, I was sick. But this is the first time."

"Sure William, just keep telling yourself that." Callum said with a smirk, finishing his pint.

"Do you want some water Will?" Jess asked, bending so that she could see his face better. He nodded slowly, but stopped when that made him feel sick again. Jess rolled her eyes and straightened up, signalling the bartender, "Can I have a pint of water please, and some aspirin if you have any." The bartender handed Jess the two small white tablets and a pint of water.

"If he's sick on the floor, he cleans it up." the bartender said before handing over the pills.

"Yes sir." Will said, saluting the bartender before slumping on the bar.

"Here you go, have this. Then I think I should take you home." Jess said, holding the glass steady as Will poured it in his mouth.

"Nah, don't wanna go home, it's only..." Will squinted as he tried to make out the numbers on his watch, but they kept squiggling.

"It's one thirty Will, don't worry, you're not gonna lose your party animal title just because you went home a little early." Sally said as she walked past and perched on the bar stool next to Jess'.

"God Will, you're such a lightweight tonight!" Nate said, punching Will lightly on the arm.

"Shove off Nate, I reckon someone spiked my drink." Will said, nodding.

Nate laughed, "No-one would want to spike your drink my friend. Right, me and Sally are off, see you all later."

Sally hugged Jess, waved at Callum, and patted Will on the arm as she went by, "Try not to be sick anymore Will. Bye!"

"I wasn't sick, just...just...oh God..." Will got off the stool, running into the bathroom.

Jess looked from the door to Callum, "Maybe you should go check on him?"

Callum sighed, "Fine, but if he's sick on me, even if it's just a drop, you're cleaning it off!"

Jess smiled, "I can do that, and then I can clean it off you as well...fancy hopping in the shower when we get home?"

Callum raised his finger as if to wait, "Hold that thought. Let me go check on young William."

After Will had finished being sick again, Jess and Callum had taken him home to wallow in his drunkenness. Jess made sure there was a big glass of water on his bedside cabinet, with a whole packet of aspirin and a bowl by the side of his bed just in case. They left his flat quietly, feeling sorry for him when he would have to work tomorrow with a monster hangover.

*

Will stumbled into work the following afternoon, feeling as if a sumo wrestler had taken up residence in his head alongside a pissed elephant. The effect was not nice, and it hurt to even blink, let alone get up and move around. He made it into briefing, and sat as still as possible in the seat.

"Alright Will? Got a nice headache this morning?" Nate whispered to him, but to Will it was as if he was shouting.

"Sh'up Nate." Will muttered, massaging his temples.

The Inspector started dishing out who was doing what that day, and Will was partnered with Jess in one of the patrol cars. As everyone was dispersing to find their partners, Will just sat still, knowing Jess would come to him.

"I'll drive then shall I?" Jess said with a smile as she helped Will out of his seat and through the station, out to the yard to their car.

"I have no idea how I'm going to make it through the day." Will said feebly as he strapped himself in.

Jess peered at him, pausing in starting the ignition, "You do look peaky still. Were you sick anymore?"

Will shook his head slowly, "No, but my head is pounding and I keep going hot and cold, you know like when you have flu?"

Jess frowned, "I don't think you're as hungover as we thought. I think you're actually ill. Maybe you should stay in the station today, I can go on patrol on my own."

Will peered at her through semi-closed eyes, "Are you sure?"

Jess nodded, "Yeah course. Hang on, let me tell Smithy." Jess got out the car and walked to where Smithy was, about to get in his own patrol car. "Sarge?"

"Yes PC Hunter?" Smithy asked, shutting the door to the car.

"I don't think Will should be out on patrol today. He's really not well." Jess explained.

Smithy didn't look convinced, "Do you mean by not well, hungover?"

"No sarge, at first I thought he was, but it's not like any hangover I've seen before." Jess said. "Come and see."

Smithy followed Jess to her patrol car, leaning in the window of her side, "Alright PC Fletcher? Jess says you're not feeling too good.

Will was leant against the window, and there was a thin sheen of sweat on his face, "No sarge, I'm really cold. Can I go in the station? It's warm in there."

Jess looked at Will, concerned, "Sarge look, he's sweating but saying he's cold."

"Alright, I'll get him in the station, the FME can look him over. Are you alright doing patrol on your own?" Smithy asked opening Will's door and supporting him into an upright position.

"Yeah I'll be fine. Let me know how he is. Thanks sarge." Jess said with a nod, smiling at Will as he was led into the station by Smithy.

*

Jess had pulled up on the side of the road next to a diner, grabbing a quick bite to eat and a coffee for her dinner. She had rung in to the station not too long ago, finding out how Will was. According to Sally, the FME had checked him over and deduced that Will had food poisoning. It made sense, seeing as they had gone out to dinner the night before, Will had a seafood dish. So he'd been sent home not long after, being no use out on patrol and being too ill to even work in the station. So it wasn't a hangover like they had all thought, he was just generally ill. Jess had just settled down in the car, eating her toasted sandwich, when a car sped by her. She placed the food on the empty seat next to her, put on her seatbelt and quickly pulled away from the kerb, flicking on her lights and sirens. The car was obviously doing more than 30mph, and it surprised Jess that the car hadn't noticed her sat there under a street light. She sighed and kept one hand firmly on the wheel as she called it in,

"Sierra oscar 134 to any units dealing." Jess said into the radio, placing both hands on the wheel as she went round a sharp bend.

"Go ahead 134, over." Smithy's voice came over the radio.

"In pursuit of a dark blue Ford Mondeo, registration Lima Yankee 3 4, 8 November Tango. Doing well over 50mph in a 30mph zone. I've flashed him, currently pursuing down Dover Street, showing no signs of stopping, over." Jess briefed quickly.

"Received. How many people in the car, over?" Smithy asked, giving Nate directions on how to get to where Jess was.

Jess looked closely at the car she was pursuing, and she thought there was only one person in the car, but she couldn't be sure, "One I think, can't be sure though. Now doing a left, that's a left, onto Jackman Road, over." Jess said, following the car tightly.

"That leads down to the industrial estate, you'll have him then. We'll be with you in a minute, traffic is holding us up, over." Smithy said, frustrated.

"Received over." Jess confirmed.

"Oh, and Jess, proceed with caution, over." Smithy warned.

*

The car she was pursuing braked violently as it entered the industrial estate. Jess stamped on the clutch and brake, swinging the wheel to the left to avoid hitting the other car. Once the car had spun to a halt and Jess' heart had resumed beating, she got out of the car, grabbing the flash light from behind the seat. She flicked it on, the lights from her car casting blue and white patterns onto the other car. The other car was silent, there was no movement from within. Something was definitely not right. This didn't feel like most other pursuits. Jess flicked out her asp, not wanting to take any chances. She crept over to the car, sweeping her flash light along it, and seeing that there indeed was only one person inside.

"Police! Out the car, hand over the keys." Jess shouted. The driver still didn't move. Jess warily walked around to the drivers side of the car, never letting her flash light leave the driver, keeping her eyes on him at all times. "I said out the car!" The drivers door slowly opened, and Jess felt like her heart was in her throat. She prayed that Smithy and Nate would get there soon. The driver got out the car at a leisurely speed, not allowing Jess to see his face. "Keys?" The driver reached into the car, supposedly getting the keys from the ignition. But instead, when he spun round, it was a gun in his hands, not keys.

"Sorry officer? What was that?" the man asked. His face was masked, his hands gloved. Jess knew that he had baited her there, and she had followed all too willingly. She backed up slowly, her hands in surrender.

"Put the gun down carefully." she said clearly, not allowing her fear to taint her voice.

"Sorry officer, no can do. See you're a message. It won't be clear what at first, but eventually, she'll understand. It's necessary you see? And it's not going to stop with you. There will be more until she realises that it's me, until she realises that I will keep hunting her officers unless she comes to me." the man said slowly, his voice relishing every word he said.

"Who? Who are you talking about?" Jess asked, trying to keep him talking.

"Ah, I can't tell you that. I really am sorry about this, but she put me in that hell hole. And now I will cause her to live out her private version of hell where her officers keep dying because of her." the man said, and Jess could tell that she was smiling. And then it clicked.

"Inspector..." but the second word was cut off with a gurgle as the man shot her at point blank range, the bullet ripping through her body, cutting a path through muscle and tissue and bone. She dropped the flash light and it landed on the dirt with a dull thud, spinning idly in a circle until it came to a rest, aimed at the man's feet. Her asp landed with a clatter next to it, and Jess' hands came up to cover the entry wound the bullet had made in her diaphragm. She could tell that the bullet had gone straight through her left lung, collapsing it, making it feel like she was being suffocated from the inside. "Help...me..." she gasped, the words feeling like sandpaper in her throat.

"I don't think so." the man said coldly. As Jess collapsed onto her knees, the blood shining ruby red on her hands, the man dragged her away from the cars. She watched in horror as he doused both cars with petrol, pulling a lighter out his pocket which he threw on to his car, instantly catching it alight. The flames ripped through the car, licking at the upholstery, carving a trail to the petrol in the tank. Jess knew there were moments until the car would explode, also causing her car to explode. She looked frantically to where her attacker had been stood, and realised with a jolt that he had gone. She collapsed onto her side, losing energy. She wouldn't be able to keep pressure on the wound much longer, and then she would bleed to death if she didn't suffocate to death first. Her breath made a horrible rasping noise as it rolled up from her deflated lung and out her mouth...in...rasp...out...rasp. A never ending cycle. Well, one that would be ending shortly with the young officer's death if help didn't arrive soon enough.

*

Smithy and Nate screeched to a halt yards away from the inferno. They could barely make out the shell of one car, and then Smithy noted Jess' patrol car, flames hungrily winding their way through it.

"Sierra oscar 134to 54. Do you read me, over?" Smithy said frantically into his radio while Nate radioed for the fire service. "Sierra oscar 134 from 54, do you read me, over?" There was no answer. Smithy scouted the area around the burning cars, trying to see if Jess was there, or if the person she was pursuing was there.

"Sarge, fire service will be three minutes tops." Nate said, running over.

"Where is she?" Smithy asked, pacing in front of the burning cars. One of the windows in Jess' car exploded, glass shattering and whipping through the air like tiny needles. Smithy and Nate covered their faces, the glass slicing through their arms. They both had small cuts all over their arms, but none of the glass had stayed in their arms, luckily.

It was then that Jess' voice came over the radio, barely audible over the inferno, "Smithy..." was all she said.

"Sarge, what if she's in the car?" Nate asked, looking at what was left of the patrol car.

"No, she would be dead if she was still in there. JESS!" he shouted into the night, hoping to get some answer. Nate and Smithy moved around the burning cars so they were on the other side. It was then that Nate spotted the track of light that Jess' flash light was making on the dirt.

"Sarge, here!" Nate called, picking the flash light up, then spotting the asp, picked that up as well. "Her torch and asp. She dropped them by the looks of it."

As Smithy took the torch from Nate's hands, it swept over the place Jess had been dragged to, a short distance from the flaming cars, "JESS!" Smithy shouted, sprinting to his fallen officer, "Nate call an ambulance now!"

"This is an ambulance call. Ambulance needed at Meadowhill industrial estate. PC Hunter has been shot in the abdomen, I repeat, PC Hunter has been shot in the abdomen. It doesn't look good, over." Nate said frantically into his radio.

Smithy unzipped Jess' stab proof vest, where there was a clear hole where the bullet had gone through. The zip may have slowed the bullet down so that it didn't penetrate her body any further, but it hadn't protected her. Smithy yanked the vest open, then ripped Jess' shirt open, causing the buttons to pop off. The bullet had entered just below her left breast, far enough down to miss the heart but still getting the lung. Smithy balled up Jess' shirt, placing it firmly on the wound. "Jess? Jess can you hear me? You're going to be ok, we've got you now."

*

From the trees he watched the chaos he had caused. An officer near death, and this was just the beginning. She wouldn't understand at first, she would just think it was a tragic shooting of one of her officers. But when more of her officers begin to get hurt, surely she would notice the pattern? And then she would know it was him. And then she would find him, hunt him. But not before he had hunted her, made her pay for what she had taken from him. Oh yes she would pay, with her officers lives, starting with the pretty young blonde who was lying in the dirt right now, a bullet wound in her body, a bullet in her chest, in her deflated lung. It would be such a shame if she died, but it didn't trouble him whether she lived or died, just so long as Inspector Gold realised that this young officer of hers was the first of the messages. Let's hope that the Inspector is as sharp as she used to be if she wants to save her other officers. The man smiled hugely, and then retreated through the trees, home.


	3. Check

**Woohoo, next one up! Thank you to Aileen, Hollie and Jo for the lovely as reviews as per usual. Enjoy!**

Jess was barely concious as she was wheeled into resus. Smithy had called the Inspector, letting her know what had happened, and Gina was about to do a briefing. She had called in all her officers who were on duty that night. They sat before her expectantly, not knowing why they had been called in. Callum walked up to her, a querying look on his face. Oh no, he didn't know.

"Sergeant Stone, take a seat please." Gina asked quietly.

"Ma'am?" he questioned, not budging.

"Callum please, now." Gina demanded. Callum glared at her for a minute before taking the seat right in front of her.

"Ma'am, is everything ok?" Beth asked, noting the morose look on the Inspector's face.

"No PC Green, it's not." Gina answered honestly. She took a deep breath, perched on the edge of the desk and started to talk, "PC Hunter was in pursuit of a speeding vehicle when she called into Sergeant Smith and PC Roberts for back up. The man she was pursuing ended up on Meadowhill Industrial estate. By the time Sergeant Smith and PC Roberts got there, the car she was pursuing was in flames, as was her own patrol car. At first glance, they couldn't see Jess or the man, but when they went around the cars, they found Jess on the ground. She's been shot in the abdomen..." Gina stopped as Callum got to his feet, his face shut off of emotion. He stormed out the briefing room without another word, no doubt to get to the hospital.

"She's been shot? Is she alive?" Sally asked quickly.

"So far. Smithy said she's in a really bad way, it's not looking good. She was shot at point blank range, the bullet went straight through her vest and hit her lung, deflating it. Smithy says she's barely concious at the minute, but the doctors are doing everything they can. Our priority is finding this man before he hurts someone else. You're dismissed." Gina said, waving her hand and watching her officers slowly walk out the briefing room, identical looks of horror, shock and disbelief on their faces.

"Ma'am, please, can I go and see her?" Sally asked, pushing through the crowd to the Inspector.

"PC Armstrong, you'll be more use here trying to find who did this to her. I'll let everyone know once I know anything. For now, I'm going to the hospital, report to the Superintendent if you find anything." Gina said, walking off abruptly. She walked to her office, fumbling with the handle before the door finally swung open. She slammed the door behind her, leaning against it for a minute. She worked out the kinks in her neck before proceeding to her desk. She grabbed her hat from it's drawer, put on her stab proof vest and yanked her coat of it's hook. Then she left the station, heading for the hospital.

*

She walked quickly up the hallway to reception. The receptionist turned to her, a questioning look on his face.

"Can I help?" he asked her pleasantly.

"I'm looking for Jessica Hunter, she was bought in about half an hour ago with a gunshot wound to the abdomen?" Gina asked.

The receptionist pointed at the doors leading to resus, "She's in there at the minute. She's in no state to be questioned."

"She's one of my officers, I want to see her." Gina demanded in a low voice.

The receptionist sighed, "Let me get one of the doctor's treating her."

"Thank you." she said with a grim smile. As she was waiting, Smithy made his way up to her.

"Ma'am?" he said quietly.

"Oh Smithy, how is she?" Gina asked hurriedly.

Smithy shook his head, "It's looking bad. One of her lungs has collapsed, her heart is having to work overtime, and she keeps slipping in and out of conciousness. There's no exit wound for the bullet either, meaning it's still in her body. They need to get it out in case it travels through the bloodstream, it can cause a heart attack or stroke."

Gina shut her eyes, winging a prayer to anyone who was listening, "Has she said anything?"

"She keeps saying something about a message, and it's necessary. And she also said something about hunting officers." Smithy said, his face blank.

"Hunting officers?" Gina asked.

"Yes ma'am." Smithy nodded.

"That doesn't sound good." Gina said, shaking her head. She walked over to where the doors to resus where, peering through the slats. There Jess was, laying on a bed surrounded by doctors working quickly over her. Even from here Gina could see the blue tinge to her skin. And then she remembered that Callum had made his way here. She looked around, not seeing him anywhere, "Smithy, where's Callum?"

"Callum? I haven't seen him ma'am." Smithy replied.

"Scuse me?" the receptionist said, coming up to Gina and Smithy, "This is Miss Hunter's doctor, Mr Jordan."

"Hello there." Mr Jordan said, shaking Gina and then Smithy's hand.

"What's the outcome looking like?" Gina asked, straight to the point. Mr Jordan lead them to some seats just to the left of resus.

"Jessica has something known as a tension pneumothorax. The air is still leaking into her chest cavity, meaning that all her blood vessels are being compressed, restricting blood flow. We're working on it right now. We've placed a chest tube into her lung to draw out the air, taking it away from the chest cavity. That's not the only damage that has been done though. When the bullet entered her body, it hit the lung and then bounced against other structures in her body. There is a lot of internal injuries, and we'll be getting her up to surgery as soon as she's stable." the doctor explained, making sure Gina and Smithy understood what was going on.

"Is she going to die?" Smithy asked.

The doctor paused before answering, "We can't be sure. But this can be fatal, and I'm afraid it's not looking as good as we would hope."

"You can't let her die." a male voice said menacingly from behind the doctor.

"Excuse me?" Mr Jordan said, turning round to face the speaker.

"Callum, let him do his job. They're doing their best." Gina warned.

"Can I see her?" Callum asked.

The doctor looked at Gina, then at Callum. Gina nodded, and the doctor said, "Yes, but she isn't looking in a good way, there are lots of machines keeping her stable right now."

"Can she hear me?" Callum asked in a softer voice.

"Yes, she's in a lot of pain though. Come on." the doctor said, leading Callum into resus.

*

Callum stood next to Jess' head, taking her hand in his. He was startled at how cold it was, and how her skin had a blue tinge to it, making her look dead already. There was blood all over her chest, and a tube sticking out of her left side which was drawing air out of her deflated lung, stopping it from entering her chest cavity and further compressing her blood vessels. When she felt his warm hand grip her cold one, she slowly turned her head, smiling. Her lips were pale, dry and chapped, but she continued to smile at him.

"Hey you." she said weakly, and Callum couldn't believe it. It didn't sound like her, not like the woman he loved. She sounded like an old lady with her voice so weak.

"Hey yourself. What were you doing going after a gun man?" Callum asked, pressing his lips against the back of her hand.

"Try not to speak." one of the nurses said to Jess, giving a disproving look at Callum, before slipping the oxygen mask back over Jess' face. As soon as the nurses attention was elsewhere, Jess took the mask back off. Callum lent closer until his ear was above her mouth.

"Get the Inspector." she managed to wheeze out.

"You want me to get the Inspector?" Callum checked. She nodded weakly and Callum rushed out of resus to find Gina. "Ma'am, she's asking for you."

"For me?" Gina asked.

"Yes, come on!" Callum nearly yelled. Gina hurried in after Callum, her face grave as she saw for her own eyes the state of her officer.

"Oh Jess, what happened to you." she said sadly, taking Callum's place.

"I'm a message." Jess whispered.

"A message? Saying what?" Gina asked.

"He said he'll keep hunting officers." Jess whispered, angry that her voice was weak. "He said it's your own private hell." Gina was confused; what was her own private hell? "He's going to hurt more officers until you go to him."

"That's not going to happen, I won't let him get close enough to anymore of you. Everyone at the station is working on trying to find him so we can lock him up. Just concentrate on getting better, ok? Callum, we'll be outside." Gina said to her sergeant. Before she left resus, she said to Jess, "You keep fighting, don't give up, and we'll see you at work soon."

*

"Ma'am, what did she mean?" Smithy asked, pacing in front of the seats where Gina was sat.

"Smithy, if I knew that don't you think I'd be getting the ass who did this?" Gina snapped, her normally cool demeanour shattered.

"Sorry ma'am. From the sounds of it, this guy knew, or knows you, knows your weaknesses." Smithy reasoned.

"Yes, and I have no clue who this man is. I'm going to get back to the station, do some research of my own. You stay here, look after Callum. Let me know if anything changes ok?" Gina asked, putting her coat on and picking up her hat.

"Ma'am." Smithy confirmed with a nod. Gina walked out of the hospital and to her car. She sat in it for a few minutes, trying to think back who would know her well enough to get to her through her officers, but there were so many. She had made hundreds of arrests since she first started, it could be anyone holding a grudge. But for now, she had to try and fit this MO against any of her other arrests, see if anything came up. She started up the engine, and pulled out the hospital back to the station.

*

Jess had been stable for the past hour now, which was a good sign. There was now only one nurse attending to her, and they were about to start getting her ready to go upstairs for surgery to repair the immense damage done to her body. Callum was still sat with her, warming her hands up.

"I love you, you know." Callum said suddenly.

Jess smiled beneath her oxygen mask before pulling it off, "I love you too. But don't say it just because you think I'm going to die."

"I don't think you're going to die, and I'm saying it because I mean it. Let's get married! As soon as they let you out of here, we'll get married. How does that sound?" Callum asked, his brown eyes burning with intense love for the woman in front of him.

"Sounds perfect." Jess said, her brows mashing together and her lip wobbling as she fought back tears.

"Hey now, don't cry, you're going to be fine, I promise." Callum said. He stroked her cheek slowly with his thumb, over and over, comforting her. Her eyes began to drift shut, and Callum smiled. She was finally getting some rest. It was then that the machines began to beep, piercing the silence of the resus. Callum looked in horror from the machines beeping madly in front of him to Jess, who's breath was coming in short, shallow bursts. "Jess? JESS!" Callum sprinted through the doors to resus, yelling for help. Three nurses and two doctors ran into resus behind him. They looked at the monitors, and then immediately started swarming round her body.

"There's blood coming out the chest tube." one of the nurses said, holding the now red tube up so Mr Jordan could see.

"We need to get her upstairs but she's not stable enough to be moved!" Mr Jordan said frustratedly.

"Nick? What are we doing?" the other doctor asked.

"We need to try and stabilise her again, until we can get her stabilised we can't get her to surgery and we can't save her." Mr Jordan said. Callum was pushed back as everyone worked over Jess, desperately trying to save her life.

"Sir, could you please leave, give us room to work." one of the nurses said to Callum, trying to bundle him out of resus. He pushed him away, moving closer to Jess.

"Instead of trying to push me out, just save her!" Callum shouted. And then the beeping of the machine ran into one, long, resounding beep.

"Get me the crash cart now!" Mr Jordan shouted, and it was immediately wheeled over by one of the nurses. The doctor placed two pads on Jess' chest, charging the defibrillator up to the max setting. Callum looked away as the charge jolted Jess' body, lifting it in the air, and depositing it on the bed with a dull thump. "Charge again!"

"Get her heart beating again!" Callum yelled at the doctors. The other doctor was pounding on Jess' chest, doing CPR, and a nurse was pumping a bag that was connected to a tube which was in Jess' throat, breathing for her.

"Charge again...clear!" the doctor called, once again forcing jolts of electricity into Jess' body, trying to kick start her heart. But still, that flat line, the continuous beeping. Callum watched at the doctor slowly replaced the paddles, looking at his watch.

"Don't you dare call it!" Callum growled.

"I'm sorry sir, we've been trying for over ten minutes. She's gone." the doctor said, a sympathetic look on his face.

"No, you're wrong, she's not. She's not gone! KEEP TRYING!" Callum shouted.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave if you carry on shouting. I am sorry." the doctor repeated, looking at his watch, then to the nurse recording time of death, "Time of death, 21:34."

*

Gina was sat in her office, scouring through her old arrests, when the phone rang.

"Inspector Gold." she said in answer, one hand scrolling on the page.

"Ma'am, it's Smithy." Smithy said, and Gina could tell from those three words that it was bad.

"What happened?" Gina asked slowly.

"I don't know yet. Callum was sat with her when her heart suddenly stopped beating. She died twenty minutes ago." Smithy said quietly.

Gina's breath caught in her chest. One of her officers had just died. "Cause of death?"

"They don't think it was directly from the pneumothorax, but they can't say for sure yet." Smithy explained.

"And Callum?" Gina asked, not really wanting to hear how much pain her other Sergeant was in.

"He left five minutes after she was pronounced. I tried to stop him..." Smithy let the sentence trail off, knowing Gina would understand.

"Right ok. Get back to the station. I'll call a briefing, but I'll ring the family first. Thanks Smithy." Gina said, hanging up before her emotions got the better of her.

*

Gina looked into the expectant faces of her officers. She knew that they knew she was going to be telling them about Jess, but they didn't know that it was bad news. She smiled briefly at Smithy as he walked in.

"Right, thanks for coming everyone, I know you're all very busy." Gina started, not quite knowing how to tell them, "Now as you know, Jess was shot in the line of duty earlier this evening. The doctors tried extremely hard to save her, but unfortunately..."

"NO!" Sally screamed, not listening to anymore. Her face went white, her heart started hammering in her chest. She wouldn't listen to what the Inspector was saying, because she was lying. There was no way, no way in hell, that Jess was dead.

"PC Armstrong, please." Gina said quietly.

"No, you said I couldn't go to her! I didn't get to..." Sally paused as she bit her lip, and her face collapsed, and she dissolved into tears. She ran out of the briefing room, closely followed by Nate.

"She diet at 21:34. Sergeant Stone was with her. Her family will be here in the morning, and they will probably want to talk to you as her friends. I am very sorry for your...our loss. She was a top officer, and she will be greatly missed." Gina said, trying to keep her voice steady. She watched as Beth started crying, being comforted by Will, who was trying so hard to remain strong for his friends.

*

He picked up the paper, a crazed smile on his face. Oh there she was, that pretty blonde officer he had lured to him last night, on the front page of the paper. That one he shot, he shot her right in the lung. Wow, he had a good shot! And now she had died. Dead and gone, off to heaven or wherever dead people go. He felt a small tug of guilt, but immediately it was covered by satisfaction as he read what the dear old Inspector had written about her fallen officer. Oh how it made his heart sing to read how much pain the Inspector and the station were in at the loss of this beloved colleague. Too bad that they didn't know the truth about the officers murder. They all thought it was him who had cruelly taken her life away from her, cut her twenty three years short. But no, it wasn't him who was the murderer here; it was her, the Dragon, the Inspector. He laughed shrilly as he threw the paper onto the table, plotting his next move.


	4. The Chase

**Next update nice and quick for you. As usual, thank you to Hollie, Aileen, Georgie, Jo and Krissie. Enjoy!**

The week following Jess' death had been tough. The whole station was in mourning; all they wanted to do was grieve for their fallen friend, but they had to try and find her killer. And that was the frustrating thing; they had expended all the evidence and it led nowhere. There was nothing, no-one to find. They were no-where near close to finding her killer than they had been at the very beginning, in fact, now they didn't have anything. The week had been uneventful in terms of criminal activity, but on Thursday, two days after Jess' death, Callum finally showed up at the station.

*

Gina was sat in her office, piles of paper in front of her. There were letters from the members of the public, offering their condolences about Jess' death; she had been a popular copper who had got to know the people on the estates. There were also rap sheets of thirty criminals with MO's similar to Jess', and who Gina had arrested herself. But even the criminals with a similar MO to Jess' weren't watertight, and all the potential murderers had alibis. They had run out of places to look for the murderer. It made her officers uneasy, it made her uneasy, and it made the public uneasy. She placed her head in her hands, just sitting in the silence for a minute. A loud bang, made her snap her head up in shock. Her face become one of sympathy when she saw Callum stood at the door. He looked a mess. His hair was sticking up in clumps, he hadn't shaved for a few days, and his eyes were red, no doubt from crying.

"Callum, come in." Gina said softly, offering him the chair in front of her desk.

"No thanks. I'm not staying long." Callum said in a sharp voice.

"Where have you been? We've been trying to call you, but you didn't answer?" Gina asked, wary of the state he was in.

"Where have I been? I've been at home, well, I used to think of it as home. But do you know why it's not home anymore? Do you?" Callum demanded, moving to stand right in front of Gina.

"No Callum I..." Gina began, but she was cut off by Callum.

"No, course you don't. I'll tell you then. It's not home anymore because she isn't there waiting for me. When I come in, no-one runs at me and throws themselves in my arms, no-one has cooked me a delicious dinner, no-one is waiting for me in bed. It's just empty. And it's your fault." Callum's voice broke on the last sentence, but he cleared his throat.

"I am so very sorry Callum. I know how much you loved her." Gina said sadly, about to place her hand on his arm comfortingly.

"Do not touch me." Callum growled, flinching away, "You don't know shit about how much I loved her! I had asked her to marry me. Did you know that? I said to her that once she was released we would get married. But I can't marry someone who's dead."

"Sergeant Stone, you need to go home. It's not healthy for you to be here." Gina said, drawing herself up to her full height and using her authoritative voice.

"Fine. I just came by to tell you that I hope you're feeling guilty. Because you're the one that killed her. Her death was a message to you. She wouldn't be dead right now, laying on a cold slab somewhere waiting to be buried, if you hadn't angered someone so much that they would hurt your officers to get to you. What the hell did you do to anger someone that much?" Callum demanded of his Inspector.

"Sergeant Stone, get out now. Don't come back until you've calmed down." Gina nearly shouted at him.

Callum laughed bitterly, "So you are feeling guilty then. Good." It was then that Callum noticed all the letters of condolence on Gina's desk. "What are these?"

"Letters from members of the public, mostly saying how sorry they are for our loss." Gina said quietly.

Callum looked at them, before grabbing them in his hands and tearing at them until they resembled confetti. The small pieces of paper fell onto the floor, and Gina just stood there, not daring to move or say anything. The door opened, and both Callum and Gina turned to see Smithy stood there. He looked at Callum, stood surrounded by paper with tears on his face, to the Inspector, stood behind her desk away from Callum.

"Callum, come on mate, I'll take you home." Smithy said.

Callum shook his head and shoved past Smithy and out of the station.

*

"Are you ok ma'am?" Smithy asked as he helped her pick up all the bits of paper.

"He's right." she replied quietly.

"About what?" Smithy asked, confused.

"He said it's my fault she's dead. That I must have done something so terrible to someone that they would get so angry and kill one of my officers." Gina said, straightening up.

"No ma'am, it's not your fault. We all know that there's a chance we could die on the job, and Jess knew it as well. I told her to proceed with caution, and she did. But she still got hurt and she did die. But it wasn't your fault. It wasn't you who pulled the trigger." Smithy said comfortingly.

"It may as well have been." Gina said, sighing deeply. She turned to her sergeant, someone she cared about deeply. "Smithy, could you leave me please?"

"Are you sure?" Smithy asked, a look of concern on his face.

"Yes. Thanks." Gina said with a nod. Once Smithy had left the room, she sat down heavily in her chair. And for the first time in a long time, she cried.

*

Sally was not coping well at all. She had taken the day after Jess had died off, after the Inspector insisted. But she couldn't concentrate on her work. She had been called to a shop where a boy had been caught stealing a sweet, and she had flown off the handle at the owner who had wanted to press charges. She had shouted at the man that the sweet was only worth 52p, that was nothing compared to having a life taken away. The owner had looked horrified, and took back the charges. Tony had to drag her away from the shop, and he wouldn't let her drive back to the station. He hadn't told the Inspector about Sally, but he wasn't sure if he had made the right choice. She just didn't care about her job anymore, or she didn't want to do it because it reminded her that her friends had died in the line of duty. Whatever the reason, she just wanted to go home and curl up in bed. And that's what she did every time she got home.

*

Sally had been sent home by the Inspector. She was supposed to be helping Max on a case for CID, but she hadn't been concentrating and she had made a mistake. When Max had pulled her up on it, she had shouted at him, and he sent her away to the Inspector. The Inspector hadn't shouted at her, but had told her to take time off. That was fine by her. Sally took the stairs leading up to her flat, she wanted to feel her muscles working. She got to her floor, the sixth floor, and walked over to the communal balcony. She took a seat, the ones that her and Jess would sit in and gossip about the day while having a glass or two of wine. She smiled as she looked out over the dark city, illuminated with all those lights, that they both loved, the one they tried to protect. She didn't hear the door opening to the balcony, and she didn't notice the man until he sat a few seats away from her.

"Hi." he said to her, a friendly smile on his face.

She smiled at him, not wanting to start a conversation with a stranger.

"Lived here long?" he asked politely.

"A few years. New here?" she asked back, just wanting to escape from this idle chit chat. She couldn't see him properly because it was so dark, but he seemed to be in his late forties.

"Yeah, just moved into the flat on the floor above, only a small one." the man said. With a start Sally realised he was talking about Jess' flat. And if she had been concentrating she would have remembered that a young family had already moved in there, and that this man was lying.

"Oh right, well welcome to the neighbourhood." she said as she got up to go inside.

"Wait!" he called.

"Yes?" she asked, pausing at the door.

"Come here a minute?" he asked.

She walked over, leaning against the balcony, her eyebrow raised in question, "What?"

"I...I wanted to say how sorry I am about the death of your friend." he said, and Sally became immediately suspicious.

"How did you know she was my friend?" Sally asked, trying to move away from the balcony, but the man stopped her by holding her wrists tightly, pushing her against the balcony.

"I read about it in the paper." he answered.

"That doesn't explain how you know she's my friend!" Sally said, her heart rate rising.

"Don't you mean was. How she _was_ your friend, not is." the man corrected her. "You young ones don't have any good grammar these days."

"It was you! You killed her!" Sally said, the realisation like a slap in the face.

The man smiled cruelly at her, "Yes I am. I didn't really mean to kill her, it just sort of happened. And the same thing is going to happen again."

"No, you can't! I know what you look like!" Sally shouted, about to scream for help. But he took one hand off her wrist, covering her mouth. She brought her now free arm up, about to hit him, but they ended up in a struggle.

"You may remember what I look like now, but will you after a fall from a sixth floor balcony? But I'm hoping you'll remember that you're the next message to your Inspector?" he asked, head on one side. Sally realised what this man was about to do to her. She fought so hard, wriggling and squirming, trying to get him to release her, trying to get away from what he was about to do to her. He still had his hand over her mouth, stopping her from screaming. And then she bit his hand. He withdrew his hand immediately, shaking it, and grunting in pain. Then he looked at her and smiled. "Bad move little copper, bad move."

"No no no, please don't!" she begged, her face wet with tears. The man grinned, scooped her legs out from underneath her, and dropped her over the side of the balcony, watching as she fell as if in slow motion until she landed with a muted thud, half on concrete, half on grass.

"Sorry PC, but you have to pay for her mistakes." the man said, dusting off his hands and leaving the block of flats.

*

Ben ran into the canteen, searching for Beth. He found her, and walked over, snatching the burger she was about to take a bite out of and depositing it in the bin.

"Ben! I was eating that!" she complained.

"Don't care. Come on, we've got a shout." he yelled over his shoulder as he ran back out the canteen. She followed him out to the yard and into the car, speeding off into the night. They stopped outside a block of flats and found a small group of people stood around something.

"Can you all get out the way please? Let us through!" Beth yelled, pushing through the crowd. She finally got through to what they were all looking at. A strangled cry made it's way out of her as she took in who was lying there on the concrete and grass. Sally's face was swollen up nearly beyond recognition, and her right leg was bent in a funny position. There was also a rapidly growing pool of thick, dark red blood emerging from the side of Sally's head; from her temple to be more precise. "Ben, it's Sally! It's Sally!" Beth yelled.

"What?" Ben asked, disbelief on his face. He pushed through the crowd, kneeling besides Beth. "Sierra oscar 795 to sierra oscar 1."

"Go ahead Ben." Gina said into the radio.

"Ma'am, me and Beth have attended a scene where a woman been found at the bottom of a block of flats. It's Sally, over." Ben said in a rush.

Gina's blood froze. It was happening again. It was Jess Hunter all over again, "Right, stay with her, do not leave her. I'll meet you there, over."

*

"What happened?" Gina demanded, spotting Ben by resus, the same resus Jess had died in.

"She was found at the bottom of her block of flats. It's not clear whether she jumped or whether she was pushed." Ben explained, watching the doctors through the door.

"Was she concious at the scene?" Gina asked.

"No ma'am. She's suffered a massive head trauma. The doc said something about a cerebral edema? It's when the brain swells up." Ben replied.

"I can't lose another officer. I just can't." Gina said tiredly.

"She's not going to die ma'am." Ben said quietly.

"Do you know that for sure PC Gayle? Are you a doctor?" Gina demanded, harshly.

"No ma'am but..." Ben tried to explain.

"Well you can't say that she won't die Ben, because she might." Gina said, suddenly exhausted. She sat on the hard, plastic chair and waited for a doctor.

*

She had been sat there for an hour, and still the doctors were working on Sally. She was just waiting for someone to come out and tell her that Sally had died, to make her week even better. She didn't know what she was going to do if Sally died. And a small voice at the back of her mind couldn't help but think if Sally was another message to her, the Dragon.

"Inspector Gold?" a male voice asked.

"Ah, Mr Jordan, we meet again." Gina said, shaking his hand.

"You're officer is in a bad way, I'm not going to lie." the doctor said honestly.

"How bad?" Gina asked.

"She has suffered a blunt head trauma which has fractured her skull and caused her brain to swell up. As well as this, she has a broken leg and a spine fracture." Mr Jordan answered.

"Is she going to die?" Gina asked.

"No, I don't think so. We're taking her up to theatre now where they will release the pressure on her brain. Then she'll be operated on to sort her leg out, they will have to insert a metal pin to keep it straight. X-rays have shown that the spine fracture is not thought to have caused paralysis, but we'll have to wait until she regains conciousness until we can know for sure." Mr Jordan replied.

"Will she remember what happened?" Gina asked, looking around the doctor to stare into resus.

"It's hard to say. We won't know until she wakes up, that's all I can say. I'm very sorry about Jessica Hunter by the way. We tried everything." Mr Jordan said sincerely.

"I know, thank you. Sally was her best friend, she hasn't been coping. And Jess' funeral is tomorrow. Why know?" Gina asked rhetorically.

"By the way, we don't think she was attempting suicide." Mr Jordan said.

"Why?" Gina asked, not daring to think that this could once again be the murderer punishing her.

"Her injuries are consistent with being thrown over, or dropped. If she had jumped, she would have landed on both legs, thus shattering them completely but doing not damage to her brain, or she would have landed on her front. Her injuries are on her back, her right leg, and the back of her brain. Well, that's from my experience." the doctor said with a nod.

"Thank you doctor. Could you let one of my officers know once she's out of surgery?" Gina asked.

"Of course." Mr Jordan, a grim smile on his face as the Inspector walked away.

*

By the time Gina arrived back at the station, news had spread fast about Sally's hospitalisation.

"Was it the same guy?" Smithy asked immediately, running to catch up with her in the corridor.

"What?" Gina asked.

"Was it the same guy who threw Sally off the balcony as it was who killed Jess?" Smithy asked impatiently.

"I don't know. But the doctor doesn't think Sally was trying to commit suicide; he believes she was thrown." Gina answered, going into her office, followed by Smithy.

"Of course she wouldn't commit suicide! No matter how grief stricken she is, she wouldn't do that. Eddie is down there right now." Smithy said.

"Good. I'm going up to CID, see how it's going. I want you to get people onto CCTV, people coming in and out of her block of flats etc, you know the drill. I'll be in CID if you need me." Gina said with a dismissive nod.

*

There was no-one in the briefing room when Gina got up there; they were all to busy seeing if there were any dots to connect between this case and Jess'. Gina stood in front of the board which had everything on. It had a smiling picture of Jess, a picture of Jess' injuries, the place Jess was shot, and now there were some new pictures; one of Sally smiling, and Gina realised that the smiling pictures of Jess and Sally were taken from the same picture. Gina sat down heavily. One of those young women was dead, the other was in hospital with a bleeding brain. It wasn't right, and it wasn't fair.

*

He had been in the crowd when her colleagues had arrived. Oh what fun it had been to see the young brunettes face as she realised that the bleeding body on the floor was her friend. How they had radioed it in to their Inspector, how she was going to be at the hospital. But no, it was too early to go for the dragon...he had to wait it out, hunt some more, and then he would be ready. It made him laugh at the thickness of the officers in front of him, that they hadn't even realised it was him; he was stood right there! They could have had him, but oh no, they were too wrapped up in the mortality of their friend and colleague to notice him. Too bad. He would have enjoyed a nice chase tonight. This incident topped off a abnormally good week for him; one young woman dead by a bullet, another young woman on her way out from a tragic fall from the sixth floor. He smiled cheerfully as he backed out of the crowd, walking across the park and out of sight.


	5. Catch Me If You Can

**Ta-da! Next one! Thanks as always to the lovely Hollie, Jo, Aileen, Georgie and Sophie. Enjoy!**

Gina was rung by Ben eight hours later. It was early in the morning, and she should have gone home long ago, but she felt like she had to stay in the station. She answered the phone quickly.

"Pc Gayle?" Gina asked.

"Ma'am, Sally's out of surgery. They drilled a hole in her skull to release the pressure, and they said it went well. The doctor did say that her heart stopped twice, but they managed to get her back. She's serious but stable." Ben said.

Gina let out a sigh of relief; Sally may still be in a serious condition, but she wasn't dead, "Thanks Ben, I'll be there in minute." Gina said gratefully. She slowly got up, and had just pulled her coat on when her office door opened, showing Nate there.

"Ma'am, could I take the day off please? I just...I really want to be with Sally." Nate asked.

"Of course Nate. I'm going there now, I can give you a lift?" Gina asked kindly.

"Thanks ma'am." Nate said gratefully.

*

Gina made her way up to the ward where Sally was being kept. She was met by Sally's doctor, Dr Grey. They shook hands and the doctor led Gina to Sally's room.

"My officer tells me that the surgery went well?" Gina asked, taking a seat.

"Yes it did. We had to drill a hole in her skull in order to implant a small tube which will release any extra pressure on her brain. Her heart stopped, but we managed to get it going again. Then when they were implanting the metal rod in her leg, her heart stopped again. It's going to be touch and go over the next 72 hours, but we're confident that she's going to recover." Dr Grey said with a small smile.

"Thank you so much. I can't imagine losing another officer so soon. Will she remember anything?" Gina asked, looking at Sally. Sally had a thick white bandage around her head, and some of her hair had been shaven off in order to gain access to her skull. There was a tube sticking out her head, and her leg was raised and held in place by a pulley type system. She looked so weak, not at all like the robust officer she normally was.

"We can't say whether she will remember what happened, but the part of her brain that was affected wasn't the part responsible for memories. However, she could still have short term memory loss, meaning she won't remember things that happened recently." Dr Grey said.

"How recently?" Gina asked.

"Not sure, maybe a week or two." the doctor replied.

Gina laughed bitterly, of course this would happen; Sally wouldn't remember being thrown over the balcony by the same guy who killed her best friend. Sally wouldn't even remember that Jess had died. She would have to be told, and then she would be grieving all over again.

*

Gina arrived home just before six am that morning. Today was the day of Jess' funeral; the service would be starting at two, so she had time to get some sleep. She picked up the mail that had accumulated over the past few days, dumping it on the sofa. As she passed the phone, she saw the little message button flashing. She pressed the button to play the messages, sitting down while it played:

_You have two new messages. First message received at 22:00pm on Tuesday 3rd February. _Gina held her breath; that was the day Jess had died, exactly 26 minutes after Jess had been pronounced. The message started to play, _Ah the Dragon. I finally tracked you down after all this time. You got the message didn't you? I mean, your officer, that pretty blonde one, she gave you the message I sent didn't she? Well, she told you that she was the message didn't she? Shame that she died, but I was disappointed, she didn't put up much of a fight. Never mind. I bet that boyfriend of hers isn't very happy; I know I wouldn't be if I knew my own boss had practically signed my girlfriends death warrant. Well, I've never had a girlfriend, because of you. I hope you're hurting Inspector. _Gina's blood froze in her veins. She recognised this voice, but she couldn't put a face or name to it. She waited as the next message played.

_Second message received at 23:05 pm on Monday 9th February. _ That was yesterday, the day Sally had been attacked. Gina had an ominous feeling that she knew who this was from. Sure enough, _Gina, Gina, Gina. You're not very good at keeping your officers alive are you? First it was that young blonde, and oh, hang on a minute, now it's another young blonde. Sense a pattern here, Dragon? But maybe not, I never liked being predictable. I'm guessing that you recognise my voice, but I know that you're frustrated because you can't see my face. It's a shame really, my mother always told me I had a nice face...oh but I'm getting off the point. The point is Gina, that I will keep hunting your officers until you figure it out. Until you can figure out who I am, and why I'm doing this, more officers will be hurt, and maybe I'll even kill a few more of them. I'm watching you Gina. Don't let me down. _

Gina nearly broke the phone in her haste to get the tape out the machine. She grabbed her bag, shoving the tape inside and ran outside to her car, making her way back to the station.

*

The tape had been played over and over to CID. No-one had said a word since Gina had rushed in, yelled at them all to be quiet and then played the tape to them. The Superintendent finally broke the silence.

"We need to get this run through voice recognition, see if anything is picked up. Terry, Jo, I want you two to trace where the calls were made from. If it's from a phone box, get CCTV, if it's from a registered mobile, triangulate where the signal was coming from and get CCTV. You know the drill. I can't stress how important this is; we've got one officer dead and another critically ill. More are going to get hurt unless we catch this guy. Understood?" the Superintendent said seriously. Everyone nodded and got to work, helping Jo and Terry with their task. "Gina, a word in my office please."

"Yes sir." Gina said quietly, following the Super to his office.

"Take a seat." he offered, and she sank into the leather chair.

"Sir, I've gone through it over and over in my head, and I just can't match the voice up with any of my old arrests. I know him, I remember arresting him, but I can't remember what he looks like or his name." Gina said wearily.

"Gina, you have to try harder! Go through all your arrests, every single one, ruling people out." the Super said firmly.

"Yes sir." Gina said with a nod, getting up.

"Wait, Gina?" the Super called.

"Yes sir?" Gina asked.

"How long is it since you've slept?" he asked, a concerned look on his face.

"Do I look that bad?" she said, laughing weakly. She stopped when the Super's piercing look fell on her, "I'm not sure."

"Go home, get some rest before the funeral." the Super ordered.

"But sir..." Gina started to argue.

"Gina, now." the Super said, but this time in a kinder voice.

"Thank you sir." Gina said gratefully. She wouldn't admit it, because that would make her weak, but she felt dead on her feet. She left the station, returning home and sleeping.

*

Tuesday 10th February, exactly a week after Jessica Hunter's death. All the police officers not on shift turned up, all in their dress uniform, waiting for the hearse carrying Jess' coffin to arrive. Jess' father Robert and brother Andrew were stood outside the Church in their sombre black suits, alongside Callum, Smithy and Nate, all ready to carry the coffin in. To Callum it didn't feel real. He kept thinking he would see her, at work or at home, but she was never there, and she never would be. The hearse pulled up slowly, the Inspector calling for quiet. The Church was immediately quiet except for the muted sobs of Jess' mother Michelle. The coffin bearers did a slow march to the hearse, sliding the coffin containing one of their loved ones onto strong shoulders. The coffin was of pale timber, and draped on top was the Metropolitan Police logo. On top of that was a bunch of pure white tulips, Jess' favourite flower. The coffin bearers began their slow march into the Church, marking the end of Jess' journey. The Superintendent and the Inspector were in the front pew on the left alongside some other head honchos within the Met, and on the other side was Jess' mother, who would be joined by her father and brother. The ceremony was a simple one, Jess wouldn't have wanted anything too fancy. On either side of her coffin were picture boards, with her favourite pictures and pictures from when she was little. There were ones of her with her brother, some with her and her parents, but most of them consisted of her and her best friend Sally. But the largest picture was in the middle of the picture board to the left of Jess' coffin. It was a picture of Jess and Callum, taken at the Christmas party. They both had huge smiles on their faces, and they were looking at each other, not the camera. Their hands were clasped together, their faces those of two young people who were going to spend the rest of their lives together. And now, that wouldn't happen.

*

He watched carefully as the coffin was lowered into the ground, watching the faces of the people clustered around that dark hole in the ground. Ah, there was the dead woman's family, tears cascading down their faces like waterfalls, oh what a pretty picture that painted. He sighed happily. This just kept getting better. And ah, there she was, his target, Gina Gold. Why so sad Inspector? He held back a giggle; this was all going so well! And now the other blonde officer was in hospital, she might be next to enter the ground. But where was the officer he was looking for, the one who would be next? Oh wait, there she is! Her long brown hair billowing in the breeze, her big blue eyes red from crying. She was so beautiful she could be in a movie. And that beautiful pale neck of hers...it wouldn't be so pale and blemish free once he was done with her. See, he knew she was a close friend of the deceased, so she would wait to pay her respects. And by the time she came past him on her way to the wake, she would be his.

*

After the service, everyone started moving away from the grave, heading to the pub owned by one of Andy's friends who had offered it to them for the wake. The last ones at her grave were Callum, Beth and Smithy.

"I am sorry mate." Smithy said quietly, patting Callum on the shoulder. Callum shut his eyes, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. He had left the red rose on the freshly dug Earth, next to the bouquets from her family and the one where from the station.

"Thanks. I'm going to the pub, you coming?" Callum asked the other two.

"Yeah, one minute." Smithy said. In his hands was Jess' hat. He offered it to Callum, who took it in his hands as carefully as if it was a newborn baby. He touched it gently, before placing it on the gravestone.

"I love you. I'll come by soon. Sleep well." Callum said softly, heading out the graveyard towards the pub.

"Beth?" Smithy asked.

Beth shook her head, coming out a reverie, "Yeah, I'll be there in a minute."

"Ok, be careful." Smithy said, touching her shoulder as he left to follow Callum.

"I'm sorry Jess, I really am. Sally would be here, but I guess you already know what happened, right? She would be here if she could, but at the minute she's just trying to get well again. I'm sure she'll be here as soon as she's released." Beth paused, wiping under her eyes to get rid of the tears, "I'm gonna miss you. But me and Sally will get through, you're at peace now. Bye Jess."

*

Beth meandered slowly through the graves. She had always hated graveyards for all the normal reasons; this was where people were buried, she was constantly walking over the dead, and it made her feel uncomfortable. She breathed a sigh of relief when she got to the shaded pathway that led out of the graveyard.

"Are you alright love?" a man asked coming from the opposite direction. Beth wiped the tears from her face and attempted a smile.

"Yes, thanks." she said politely, just wanting to get to the pub.

The man suddenly looked sympathetic, "Ah, been to a funeral?"

"Yes, one of my close friends was murdered last week. She was a policewoman." Beth explained.

"Oh yes, I read about that! Terrible business isn't it! We know we're not safe when police officers are being killed!" the man exclaimed.

"You'll be perfectly safe sir. Now excuse me." Beth said, trying to move past.

"Hang on a minute! I recognise you!" he said.

"You do?" Beth asked, because she sure as hell didn't recognise him.

"Yes, yes I do! I'd recognise that beautiful, unmarked, elegant neck anywhere." the man said with a nod.

"You recognise my neck?" Beth asked suspiciously. She looked around her quickly, and panicked when she realised she was alone. She was sure that she was just being silly and overreacting, but still.

"It's so elegant, and you're awfully beautiful. Have you ever considered modelling?" he asked curiously.

"No, I'm a cop, now excuse me..." Beth said, trying to move past.

The man smiled, and not in a good way, "You're a police officer?" Beth nodded. "So you'll know Inspector Gold then?"

"She's my boss, why, do you know her?" Beth asked, stopping.

"Yes, quite well actually. Are you going to see her now?" the man asked.

Beth paused, "I think so, why?"

"Could you give her a message for me?" he asked politely.

"Um sure." Beth said, complying.

*

"Callum? Where's Beth?" Max asked, approaching Callum at the bar.

"I have no idea, I don't keep tabs on her!" Callum slurred, already drunk.

"Smithy? Have you seen Beth?" Max asked Smithy next.

"Last I saw her she was at Jess' grave, just saying a last goodbye I think. She said she'd be here in a minute. Just give her some time Max." Smithy said gently.

"Sure. But if she's not here in another minute I'm going to get her." Max said with a nod.

*

The man wrapped his long fingers around Beth's neck, almost tenderly, and began to squeeze slowly. He laughed in her ear, "I'm surprised at you Beth. You didn't realise who I am? You didn't guess that you were my message to the Inspector? What do they teach you at police school nowadays!" Beth struggled to draw breath into her lungs; her windpipe had nearly been completely squeezed shut. It was all she could do to keep concious. "You're very petite for a policewoman, very easy to lift." The man began to push Beth off the path and against the tree, lifting her so she was suspended against the trunk, his hands still around her neck. She managed to gasp out a few words when he temporarily relaxed his grip.

"You...bastard...you won't...get...away with it!" she gasped.

He laughed quietly, "Oh but I have. Sweet dreams Beth." His hands suddenly tightened further, and Beth couldn't draw anymore breath in. Her lungs began to ache from oxygen starvation, and she violently kicked her legs against the tree trunk, trying to force him to loosen his grip, or trying to wriggle out of his grip. But his hands were firm around her neck, and he wasn't going to be letting go anytime soon. Beth could feel her strength sapping away, and she relaxed in his grip as unconsciousness claimed her. The man dropped his hands to his sides, watching as Beth's unconscious body fell heavily onto the damp Earth. He scribbled a note on a piece of paper, placing it in Beth's hand.

"And another one bites the dust." he said with a smile, walking off.

*

He hid behind the trees, knowing that someone would be coming for her soon. After ten minutes, he heard footsteps approaching, and it was all he could do not to point her out to the man striding over.

"Beth?" Max shouted. "BETH!" No answer. Max had tried her mobile before he left the pub, but she wouldn't pick up. He didn't know if it was turned off or if something had happened. He walked across the graveyard, coming to the shaded pathway. "Beth?" He scanned the path, seeing if her phone was anywhere along there. And then his eyes spotted a shoe slightly into the undergrowth. He walked over, a confused look on his face, and as he bent down to pick it up, he spotted the figure on the floor. He instantly knew who it was.

"I need an ambulance to Sun Hill graveyard. A woman in her early twenties is unconscious. Please, it's urgent!" Max shouted into the phone before dropping it in his pocket and hurrying to Beth. She was face down on the Earth, her dress up around her thighs, scratches on the back of her legs. He bent down so he could speak into her ear, "Beth? Beth can you hear me? It's Max." No response. Max gently turned her over so she was on her back, and his eyes were drawn to the purple bruises that were forming on her neck. "Oh God! Who did this to you?!" Max gently touched the strangulation marks, shaking his head. He placed her in the recovery position, and as he was placing her left hand under her cheek, a piece of paper was released. Max grabbed it before it blew away. There were five words on it, but those words caused unstoppable anger and rage build up in the detective.

_Catch me if you can._

*

He liked watching his victims being found. It gave him a great sense of satisfaction to see the people's reactions...this gave him a greater pleasure than sex any day! How long would it be until Gina was informed? She would know it was him, they would all know it was him, but they wouldn't be able to do anything about it. He was too clever for that, oh yes he was. This man would be angry, as angry as the blonde woman's man was, but not angry at him, oh no, angry at the Inspector. She'll crack under the strain, because she knows that this is her fault, and she knows that people are thinking she should be doing something about it. He smiled and sighed in contentment. All he wanted to do was get his hands on the Dragon, but he had to wait a little while longer. Just a bit longer, and then she was his.


	6. Paralysed

**Finally done! Thanks as always to my very talented reviewers, Hollie, Jo, Aileen, Georgie and Krissie. Enjoy!**

Max was with her the whole time. He wouldn't let go of her hand, even when the doctors were working on her. He had come so close to losing her, and he still hadn't told her how much she meant to him. He only had to think of what happened to Callum when he lost Jess to realise that if he didn't say to Beth that he loved her now, he would never forgive himself. The doctors had been examining Beth for over half an hour now, and she was slowly starting to respond to treatment and come round.

"Doctor, will she remember what happened?" Max asked, looking up at Mr Jordan.

"We can't tell at this stage. Her brain was starved of oxygen, and we don't know how long for. Also, her head was hit hard either with or against something, so she'll need CT scans and an MRI to check for any internal bleeding." the doctor answered. He saw that Beth was starting to come round, and walked to the top of the bed so she could see him, "Miss Green? Can you hear me?"

Beth nodded, her eyes squinted together because of the bright light above her head, "Yes."

"Do you know where you are?" Mr Jordan asked. Beth cast her memory back. It was all fuzzy. She remembered she was at Jess' funeral and she was making her way to the pub where all the others were...oh no, no, it was him! He had got to her! Tears started to leak out the corners of her eyes. Max looked at her, panic in his eyes.

"Beth? Are you in pain? Where does it hurt?" he asked her quickly.

"He nearly got me Max. I nearly ended up the same way Jess did." Beth cried, her body shaking.

"Miss Green? You need to try and stay calm ok?" Mr Jordan said to her, forcing her to look at him.

"He nearly killed me." she whispered.

Max brushed her hair off her face and wiped her tears away, "You're ok now. I've got you. You're safe."

"What if he comes back for me Max?" she asked, looking so scared.

"He will never touch you again. I promise you." Max said, a steely note in his voice. His jaw was clenched with the effort of not saying more.

"You promise?" Beth asked, begging him.

"I promise." he nodded, "And Beth?"

Beth turned her head to him, looking questioningly, "Yes?"

"I love you." Max said, almost a whisper. He kissed Beth lightly, stroking her hand. "I will personally make sure that he suffers for what he's done."

*

Gina was sat in the pub in the corner, sipping her whiskey. She watched Callum at the bar, ordering pint after pint. He was drunk three hours ago, now he was practically comatose. She would have to take him home soon, although she didn't think he'd appreciate it. All he wanted to do was forget; to forget what he had lost; to forget that he had ever met and loved Jess. Just forget. She would like to forget as well, but it wasn't possible. Smithy came and sat in the seat opposite her, setting another whiskey down.

"To Jess. And to Sally getting better." Smithy said quietly, raising his own drink.

"To the both of them." Gina said, taking a sip. "Thanks Smithy."

"What for?" he asked her, eyebrows raised.

"For supporting me these past weeks." Gina said sincerely.

"It's nothing. You're my friend, my mentor and my boss, of course I'll support you." Smithy said with a smile.

Gina looked closely at the man she regarded as her adopted son. He reminded her of someone, but she couldn't match up the face to a name. Oh well. It was probably just her memory playing tricks on her again. "I'm going to take Callum back. I'll be back soon."

"Ok, be safe." Smithy said with a nod. Gina had just risen from her chair when her mobile started to ring.

"Inspector Gold." she said into the phone.

"Inspector, this is Mr Jordan." Nick said.

"Oh hi, what can I do for you?" Gina asked, sitting back down while she took the call.

"Another of your officers has been brought in I'm afraid." Nick said sadly. Gina's blood froze; not another one. Hadn't her officers gone through enough?

"Who is it?" Gina asked hoarsely. Smithy looked at her, concern etched on his face.

"PC Beth Green. Mr Carter is with her. He found her unconscious in the graveyard; she had been strangled. She's regained consciousness now, and she's just come back from her scans and they're all clear. We'll keep her in overnight for observation, but she can be released tomorrow." Nick said.

"Thank you. I'll be there in a minute." Gina said, hanging up. She took a deep breath, and eyed up the whiskey that was on the table. She picked it up, downing it quickly.

"Gina?" Smithy asked.

"Beth's been strangled. She's been taken to hospital, Max is with her. I'm going there now. Make sure Callum gets home alright." Gina said in clipped tones.

*

Gina had deja vu when she walked into the A&E department for the third time in as many weeks. She walked up to the reception desk, asking to talk to Mr Jordan.

"Yep, here he is." the receptionist said with a friendly smile, pointing to Mr Jordan. Gina hurried over, waiting for him to finish talking to one of the nurses.

"Ah, Inspector Gold. If you'd like to come with me, I can take you to see your officer. She's doing well, but she is very distressed." Nick said seriously, leading Gina to the cubicles. He stopped outside one at the end of the row, pulling the curtain back and letting Gina go in.

"Beth! Are you alright?" Gina asked, rushing to the side of the bed Max wasn't occupying.

"Yes ma'am. I'm ok now." Beth said quietly, looking to Max. Gina's gaze was drawn to the big purple and blue bruises which decorated Beth's pale neck. She could clearly see the outline of fingers.

"Was it him?" Gina asked carefully.

Beth bit her lip and her forehead creased as she held back tears. She nodded, "Yes, he said I was the message. Just like Sally and Jess."

"Ma'am, this has to stop! One officer died, and two more have ended up in here." Max said tightly.

"And what do you suppose I do? Stop all my female officers from leaving the station?" Gina retaliated.

"No, you could work out who's doing this. That would help." Max said harshly.

"Max! It's not her fault!" Beth said, looking in shock at Max.

Max hung his head, "I know, I'm sorry Ma'am."

Gina sighed, "It's ok. You're right. If I could figure out what sick man is doing this, then we could catch him. I'll send someone over later to take your statement Beth. Take off as much time as you need ok? Get well. Bye." Gina said, briefly touching Beth's folded hands.

"Thanks ma'am." Beth said quietly.

*

While Gina was in the hospital, she decided to go and stop in on Sally and see how she was doing. She got up to the ICU and walked to the room Sally was in. Nate was sat with her, holding her close to him. When he let Sally go, Gina could see that her face was drenched in tears. Gina walked over to the nurses station, wanting to find out how Sally was doing.

"Excuse me?" she said to the male nurse on the desk.

"Yes?" he asked.

"How is Sally Armstrong doing? I can see she's awake, but was there any brain damage or memory loss?" Gina asked. The nurse walked around the desk and indicated the chairs against the wall.

"She regained consciousness about an hour ago. Her boyfriend was here when she woke up. It appears that she has suffered from short term memory loss of about a week. About from that, she hasn't suffered any brain damage. However, the doctor has just been in to test her mobility..." the nurse paused, glancing at the room Sally was in.

"And?" Gina asked, prompting him.

The nurse looked at her, "I'm afraid it seems that she's been paralysed from the waist down." Gina's mouth hung open in shock. Sally paralysed? No, that couldn't be true. Sally was such an active and physical woman. No way could she be paralysed! She hadn't realised she'd been shaking her head until the nurse said, "Yes, I'm afraid so. She's been told, and she's very distressed, as she might have guessed. Do you want to see her?"

Sally would never be a police officer again. Sure she could be on the front desk, but it would kill her to see her friends going off to shouts without her. Gina nodded, "Yes please." The nurse led her to Sally's room, knocking on the door before opening it. Nate was sat on the bed with Sally, his arms around her.

"Sally I'm so sorry." Gina said sadly.

Sally sniffed and wiped her eyes, "It's ok. It's not like I used my legs a lot." Sally started sobbing again, and Nate rocked her, stroking her blonde hair.

"Can I sit down?" Gina asked. Nate nodded at her, and Gina sat in the chair by the bed. "Have you told her?"

Nate looked at her, "Not yet. I don't know how to."

"Told me what?" Sally asked.

"You know you've been asking why Jess hasn't visited?" Nate said. Sally nodded. "Well, the reason is because, last week, she was killed. It was her funeral today."

To the shock of Nate and Gina, Sally laughed. It wasn't a quiet laugh either, but a chest heaving laugh. She stopped when she saw the expressions on Gina and Nate's face, "You're serious?" she asked, her face crumpling when Gina nodded. "No you're lying to me! Because she's not dead, I only saw her yesterday! She's fine! She is, don't lie to me! No way would she leave me, she just wouldn't! We're a team!" Sally screamed.

"Shhh, I know you're hurting. I know." Nate comforted, kissing her gently on the forehead while she cried against his chest.

"I am so sorry Sally. I also have some more bad news." Gina said.

"Has someone else been hurt?" Nate asked alertly.

Gina nodded, "Beth was found unconscious by DS Carter in the graveyard; she'd been strangled. She's ok now, they're releasing her tomorrow."

"When's it going to stop?" Nate shouted, making Sally jump.

"We're trying to find him Nate." Gina answered.

"Well it's not working is it!" Nate said quieter this time.

"I know. I'm sorry. I've got to go. Bye Sally." Gina said softly, walking from the room and leaving the hospital.

*

It was dark when Gina finally got home. She walked straight upstairs to the study and pulled out one of her photo albums. She wiped a hand across the cover, getting the dust off. She walked over to her leather chair, collapsing into it heavily. She rested her head against the chair, shutting her eyes. She was tired; so so tired. She reached for her cigarettes and lighter, popping a cigarette in her mouth. She lit it and bought it to her lips, inhaling deeply. Ah. That was better. She blew out, the smoke rising lazily above her. Smoking may not help her cancer, but it sure as hell offered her some relief. The cancer was wearing her down, and she didn't know how much longer she could take it. The chemotherapy and radiotherapy may be shrinking the tumour, but it sapped all her energy. She started to feel guilty; she was dying anyway, so why didn't the man come after her instead of her officers? It wouldn't matter if she died, she was on her way out. But Jess, Sally and Beth had had the rest of their lives to live with the men that loved them. But now that had changed. Gina stubbed out her cigarette, opening up the photo album. She hadn't looked at it in years, but she was feeling nostalgic. She flicked through the first pages, and then got to the ones when she had been a young PC. Wow, this was an old one. There was a picture of her with her first big love. And then the realisation slammed into her like a train. She ran downstairs and played the two voice mails the the killer had left on her machine. His voice filled the room, and hairs rose on the back of Gina's neck as she finally realised who it was. Why the hell hadn't she seen it before?

*

"Gina? Are you ok? You sounded scared over the phone." the Super said, indicating for Gina to sit down. She placed the picture of her and her first love on the Super's desk. "What's this?"

"Look at the man." Gina said frantically. The Super looked, and then looked at Gina with confusion on his face.

"What?" he asked her.

"It's him. That's who's doing it. His name is Johnny Jackson. When I was 23 I was put on my first undercover operation to take down a mob that had killed a lot of people in the area. I got into the mob by going out with Johnny. He was a hired gun and had no idea I was a cop. We fell in love. I knew I shouldn't have, that it was unprofessional, but I couldn't help it. He had asked me to marry him the day before I had to arrest him. When I put those cuffs on his wrists and he realised who I really was, he went mental. He always said he'd find me and come for me. And now he has." Gina said, the story leaving her lips feeling cold and dry.

"Johnny Jackson. Right, I'll get everyone on it. Well done Gina." the Super said, hurrying out his office and towards CID.

"Thanks sir." Gina said quietly.

*

An urgent briefing was held the next morning. The Super came down, and stood with Gina by his side.

"Right, Inspector Gold last night had a breakthrough. We know who we're looking for." the Super said to stunned looks around the room.

"Who is it?" someone called out.

"Johnny Jackson, he was put away for 25 years for murder thanks to Inspector Gold. Jackson said to the Inspector that he would come and find her and hurt her. It appears that Jackson has been released and has found where the Inspector is working and is now hurting her through her officers. We have a mug shot of Johnny from his time inside, and we've got an address. It's unlikely that he'll be there though." the Super said. He was about to start talking again when the Inspectors phone rang.

"Inspector Gold." she said.

"Well well well, you finally figured it out. It's a shame, I was hoping to keep you dangling a little longer. Never mind, it's going to get really exciting now. How's that beautiful young copper, the one with the elegant neck? She survived I presume? And what about the other blonde who "threw" herself off her block of flats? Is she still alive? That's a shame, I'm getting careless. Well, that won't happen again. Tell your officers to watch their backs, because I'm in a hunting mood. Isn't it funny that I loved you once? Well I won't be making that affect my actions. Goodbye Gina." and then he hung up. Gina stood there stunned.

"Did you hear that?" she asked the Inspector. There was silence in the room as the Super nodded.

"Go up to CID and get the call traced. Right everyone, listen to me carefully. No-one goes on patrol on their own. You tell either myself or the Inspector when you leave the station and why. If you're called to a shout, deal with it quickly and effectively then return here straight away. If you think you're being followed or in danger, call it in immediately and get out of there. Understand?" the Super said seriously. The officers nodded at him and slowly began to clear out the room.

"Gina? Come on." the Super said, leading Gina up to CID.

*

"Will come on, we've got a shout." Smithy called into the men's changing rooms.

"Alright, give me a sec!" Will shouted back. Smithy sighed, leaning against the wall. Will finally emerged, zipping up his vest.

"Please tell me you weren't gelling your hair." Smithy stated, running out to the squad car.

Will looked sideways at him, looking sheepish, "No sarge, of course not. What's the shout?"

"A man rang in saying that there were youths hanging around outside his house, up to no good." Smithy said, buckling his seat belt.

"Does he not think we have better things to do?" Will said, shaking his head.

"PC Fletcher, we have to take each call seriously. Now shut up and give me directions." Smithy said with a small smile.

*

The road that the man gave them was a dead end. Smithy stopped the car and got out.

"Maybe we got the wrong road?" Will asked, looking around as he too got out the car.

"Maybe. I'm sure it was Cleaveland Road though." Smithy said, confused.

"Hang on, let me ask the woman over there." Will said, pointing at the woman across the street. "Excuse me, is this Cleaveland Road?"

"Yes love it is." the woman answered with a smile. She walked off, leaving the two officers alone on Cleaveland road.

"It must have been a prank call sarge." Will said, shaking his head. That was one of the things he hated about this job; you got idiots wasting their time just for the fun of it when there was someone who actually needed them.

"I think you might be right. Come on, let's head back before we get a bollocking from the Super." Smithy said, turning to unlock the squad car. Will had just stepped into the road when the screeching of tyres nearby alerted the two officers that all was not well. Will turned to hear where the tyres were coming from, and saw that the headlights were headed towards him at a rapid speed. "Will! Get out the road!" Smithy shouted, making to run to push Will out the way. But it was too late. The car rammed straight into Will, throwing him up and over the bonnet. He landed on the road with a loud thud. Smithy ran to his injured colleagues side, hand on his radio about to call in for an ambulance.

"Uh uh, I wouldn't do that if I were you." a man's voice said from behind him. Smithy turned round and saw the smiling face of Johnny Jackson's face before it all went dark.

*

This sergeant that Gina thought so much of sure wasn't light! He had dragged him only halfway towards the car, but his arms were already aching and protesting. But then a surge of adrenaline pumped through his body: he finally had what Gina couldn't bear to lose, Smithy. Gina would go absolutely crazy when she realised, and she would come straight to him. Oh how his heart beat wildly for the women he had once loved. He couldn't wait to touch her once more. And he couldn't wait to watch the life drain out of those brown eyes. Ooft, he finally got Smithy into the boot of the car. He slammed the lid down, dusting off his hands. He was about to get into the car when he looked at the officer he had hit with his car. He didn't look in a good way. Ah well, not his problem. He smiled cheerfully and got in his car, reversing to turn the car round, narrowly avoiding driving over the male officer's legs. Not that it would have mattered, but it would leave a trail, and he didn't want that. Oh no, Gina was going to have to work hard to find her. The Dragon was going to be slayed, that was for sure.


	7. Memorandum

**Took me a while, but it's done now. Sorry for the wait, my laptop got a virus so I had to wait until my new one came before I could carry on with this. Thank you as always to the lovely Hollie, Aileen, Georgie, Krissie and Jo. Enjoy!**

Johnny Jackson had been her first and only big love. She hated to admit it, even to herself, but it was the truth. He was the one who stole her heart, making it his, and he had never relinquished his hold over it. Sure, there had been Jonathan, and then Peter, but neither of them had been anything like Johnny. Johnny was your typical hard man, all leather jackets, motorbikes and guns. He always had a fag in his mouth and a girl on his arm, but no girl lasted more than a week with him. He was restless, with all this energy. And that's when he was "talent spotted" by the local mob. They picked him after hearing about his skills with a gun, and it wasn't long after that that he made his first murder on their behalf. When Gina had first been shown his picture by her Superintendent, she took a strong dislike to him. She knew what he had done, and she would have to pretend to like him in order for the operation to work. She had no idea how she was going to do it, but it turned out that she didn't have to be pretend to like.

*

"_Now then, what's a pretty young thing like you doing in a horrible place like this?" he asked her, sauntering up to the bar, a fag in his mouth._

"_Trying to have a drink without being interrupted by creeps like you." She said with a sardonic smile playing on her face. Johnny had raised his eyebrows at her, a cocky smile on his face._

"_Really? You think I'm a creep?" he had asked her, signalling for the barman to get him another drink._

"_I don't think, I know. Now, if you'll excuse me." Gina said, sidling past him and settling in a booth. She could feel her heart hammering under her top, but she put it down to adrenaline. She placed her drink on the table, pulling her cigarettes out her bag. She placed them on the table next to her drink, and dug in her bag looking for her lighter._

"_Need a light?" he asked, sitting on the chair opposite her. Gina searched through her bag a while longer before giving in. She pulled a cigarette out the packet, holding it out for him to light. He took it from her, his hand brushing against the tips of her fingers. She looked up at him curiously. He handed her the lit cigarette back._

"_Thanks." She said, taking a deep drag. She savoured the taste in her mouth before blowing it out._

"_I wouldn't have expected a girl like you to be a smoker." Johnny said curiously._

"_And what kind of girl do you think I am?" Gina had asked, staring intently at him._

"_The one who's daddy's little girl, who gets everything she wants without having to work for it." Johnny said, stubbing his fag out._

_Gina laughed, "You don't know how wrong you are."_

"_Enlighten me then." Johnny suggested._

"_Why should I? I don't know you, and I don't like you, so why would I?" Gina asked, finishing her drink._

"_Because you're intrigued by me. I can see it on your face. I don't blame you to be honest." Johnny said cockily. Gina was loathe to admit he was right. And anyway, the whole point of her being there was to get to know Johnny._

"_Fine, but only if you take me out." Gina bargained._

"_Ah, so there's a price to your company?" Johnny asked._

"_Yep. I don't come cheap." Gina said, and she was ashamed to realise that she was flirting with the murderer._

"_Well then, I'll pick you up at seven tonight." Johnny said._

"_Seven it is. If you're late, then that's it." Gina said, getting up and walking past him._

"_Wait!" Johnny shouted after her. She paused at the door before looking over her shoulder at him. She raised her eyebrows in question, "I don't know where you live."_

"_If you're that intrigued you'll find out." Gina said with a smile._

*

That had been her first experience of Johnny, and she could remember it so clearly it scared her. He had found out where she lived, and he had taken her out dancing. She had never had so much fun, although at the end of the evening when he took her home, she hadn't offered too much information. So he picked her up the next night and they went bowling. She realised over these dates that she was falling in love with him, and she didn't know how to stop it. Her Superintendent had picked up on her eagerness for the undercover operation when she went to the station to pass on new information. When her Super asked her what her change of heart had been, she couldn't exactly say that she'd fallen in love with the murderer that they were after. No way. So she kept it hidden, and she never told anyone about it. She remembered clearly that as the months of the operation passed, so did her love for Johnny. She was so in love with him that she didn't know if she could give him up to her colleagues. But she knew she had to do it, otherwise more people would die. Something happened the night before his arrest that nearly changed her whole life.

*

_Gina was lounging on Johnny's sofa, waiting for him to get out the shower so they could go out. He hadn't told her where they were going; only that it was a surprise. She couldn't wait. She trusted Johnny, and that was strange, because Johnny was a murderer, and as a police officer, she shouldn't trust murderers. But that was the whole issue. She was starting to doubt who she was, who she really was. Was she a police officer who was going to take down Johnny Jackson for murder? Or was she the woman who was going to take Johnny and flee the country, getting them both far away so that they would be safe? She didn't know. And that was what scared her. Johnny came and knelt in front of her. He smiled his crooked grin, his onyx eyes boring into hers. He moved forward, brushing his lips against hers._

"_What you thinking about?" he asked her softly._

"_Us." she answered truthfully._

"_All good things?" he asked, tucking her brown hair behind her ear._

"_Maybe." she said with a small smile._

"_Well, maybe we can discuss it tonight. Come on, we're going." he said, pulling her to her feet. As they got to the front door, Johnny handed Gina a helmet and her leathers which they had bought a few months ago. He pulled his own leathers on, his helmet under one arm, the other arm slung around Gina's shoulders. They got onto his bike and roared off to an unknown destination._

_Johnny stopped at a lookout point. He parked the bike, put the stand on, and got off. He watched as Gina took her helmet off, shaking her hair. Under the moonlight, she had never looked so beautiful. _

"_Come on babe, over here." he said, leading her past the trees and to a bench which looked over the City of London, their city. The lights twinkled at them in the night, sparkling like the stars above them._

"_Wow Johnny, this is beautiful! I never knew London could look so beautiful!" Gina said, her eyes wide as she took the view in. Johnny placed his arms around her waist, pulling her tight against him, kissing her hard._

"_It may be beautiful, but it's nothing compared to you." Johnny said. Gina blushed, ducking her head. She still wasn't used to it, him complimenting her. _

"_Thanks Johnny." she said quietly, looking into his eyes._

"_I've got a surprise for you. Here, give me that." he motioned, taking her helmet off her and placing it next to his own on the damp grass._

"_What kind of surprise?" Gina asked, suddenly suspicious._

"_You'll like it, I promise." he said, a big smile on his face. She narrowed her eyes at him, wondering what he was doing. "Now, you need to shut your eyes and promise not to look."_

"_Why?" Gina asked._

"_Just do it ok?" he asked, looking earnest. "In fact, turn around as well. I know what you're like; you'll peek!" Gina laughed but did as she was told. She turned around and covered her eyes, wondering what he was doing. "Ok, turn around." Gina turned and smiled. In front of her was a picnic blanket with a bottle of cheap bubbly on it as well as some food._

"_What's this?" she asked happily._

"_Hang on, I'm not done yet." he said, his face suddenly serious._

"_There's more? Johnny, you shouldn't have!" she said, smiling at him. She watched as he came towards her, a look so intense on his face that made her heart constrict with love. He bent down on one knee, producing a small box from behind him._

"_Gina, I love you. I love you so much, and I want you to share my life with me. I want you to be my wife. Marry me?" he asked, opening the box. Inside, a gold band set with a small diamond glinted at her. She was speechless. He had never said that he loved her before._

"_Are you serious?" she asked, and in that moment she forgot that she was a police officer and in front of her was the man she was supposed to be gathering evidence on for murder._

"_I've never been more serious in my life." Johnny said sincerely._

"_Yes." Gina said with a nod._

_Johnny looked surprised, "What?"_

"_I said yes!" Gina shouted to the empty night. Johnny got to his feet, grabbing her and spinning her around. He slid the band onto her ring finger, and then he kissed her as if he had never kissed her before._

*

A knock on her office door made her come back to the present.

"Come in." she called. The Superintendent walked in, a concerned look on his face.

"Gina, has Will and Smithy come back yet?" the Super asked.

Gina racked her brains; now that he mentioned it, she hadn't seen her Sergeant for a while. "I'm not sure, but no, I don't think so. Why? How long have they been gone for?"

"Over an hour, and they haven't been answering their radio's either." the Super said, his worry concealed.

"I'll go and have a look. I'll take Tony with me." Gina said, getting to her feet.

"Ok, but Gina, be careful." the Super said seriously.

"Yes Sir." Gina said with a nod, collecting her coat and hat.

*

_The night that Johnny asked her to marry him, she had thought long and hard about her future. There was nothing that she wanted more than to spend her life with Johnny and have a family with him. But she was a cop, and he was a killer. Those two things didn't work well together. And their whole relationship was based on a lie; their relationship was manufactured. She hadn't been able to sleep that night. So, when she was sure that Johnny was asleep, she crept out of bed and left the flat. When she was outside, she was met by one of her colleagues who had been watching the house._

"_Gina? How's it going?" Tom had asked her._

_She smiled, but it was strained, "Good. We should have him soon."_

"_That's good, cause the Super was saying about making the arrest soon. He says we have enough evidence now, so not long until you're out of there and back at work, eh?" Tom said with a grin._

"_Yeah sure." Gina said briefly. Then, the phone in Tom's car rang._

"_PC Croft speaking." he said into it. Gina paused as she listened to Tom's side of the conversation. "Yes sir. She's here with me now. Do you want to talk to her? No, she's out the flat, we're outside. Yes sir. Five minutes? Ok sir, I'll do that."_

"_Tom? What's going on?" Gina asked urgently._

"_Gina, get in the car. The Super and the team are coming now to arrest Jackson. You need to be out the way." Tom said with a sense of urgency in his voice._

"_What?" Gina exclaimed. This was not what she wanted. She wanted Johnny. She was about to run across the road and enter the flat when Tom grabbed her by her wrist._

"_Gina! Stop, where are you going?" Tom asked._

"_Back inside." Gina said, pulling at her wrist, trying to free it from Tom's grasp._

"_No, you can't! They'll be here any minute! Now get in the car." Tom ordered. Gina stopped fighting him and walked round to the passenger side and got in the car. They waited. And waited. And then they heard sirens approaching from the distance. And all of a sudden, the block of flats was surrounded by flashing lights, sirens and police officers. Gina watched absently as her colleagues stormed the flats, going to arrest her fiancée. Her heart twisted as they came out with Johnny in cuffs. He was fighting them all the way. Before she realised what she was doing, she got out the car and walked to where Johnny was trying to be dragged into the van that would take him to custody. Her Superintendent saw her and smiled at her._

"_Well done PC Gold. This wouldn't be happening if it wasn't for your hard work." the Super said, patting her on the shoulder. Gina looked at Johnny, watching as he stopped fighting and looked at her, betrayal and hurt in his eyes. And then he went crazy._

"_You? You bitch! You set me up! How could you?!" Johnny screamed. Gina just stared at him, tears dripping down her face. "I asked you to marry me! Did it slip your mind that to tell me that you were actually a cop?"_

"_Johnny..." she began to say, but her Super stopped her._

"_PC Gold, no." he said sternly._

"_I'll hunt you down Gina. I will find you, and then I will kill you. I LOVED YOU!" Johnny yelled, his voice cracking._

"_I know." she whispered, turning her back on the man she loved._

*

"See anything?" Gina asked Tony as they pulled into Cleaveland Road.

"No ma'am. Maybe they got waylaid?" Tony suggested, slowing down so he could look around properly.

"Maybe. But they would have called it in by now." Gina said, worry stirring in her stomach.

"Hang on, what's that?" Tony said, peering into the distance. He turned the headlights up to full beam and slowly approached the lump in the road. As they got nearer, they could see that it was a person. "Ma'am, it's a man."

"Stop the car Tony." Gina commanded. Tony stopped, and Gina got out slowly. She looked to her left, seeing the deserted area car that Will and Smithy had been in. Realisation slammed into her. She ran to the man on the ground, turning him gently onto his front. "Oh Will. Tony, call an ambulance, it's Will!"

"What?" Tony asked, shocked, coming to Gina's side.

"Tony, call an ambulance!" Gina demanded. Gina shook the young PCs shoulders. "Will? Can you hear me? It's Inspector Gold." There was no response from Will. "Come on Will, don't do this to me!"

"Ma'am, it's on its way." Tony said, returning to Gina's side.

"Thanks Tony. Come on Will, we need you to open your eyes." Gina said loudly to the unconscious Will.

"Ma'am, where's Smithy?" Tony asked looking around. Gina froze, and her heart nearly stopped. He had Smithy. Johnny had Smithy.

*

He wondered if they had found that young PC yet. He wondered if the PC was dead. He wondered if the Dragon was coming after him yet. He wondered what it would feel like to kill her. He wondered if she still loved him like he still loved her. He wondered if his love for her would stop once she was dead. He wondered what it would do to her, seeing her favourite officer and confidante like this. He wondered if Smithy knew that Gina was dying anyway, and that actually he would be doing her a favour. He wondered if Gina would prefer to die at his hands or the cancers. He wondered why he cared so much.


	8. Game Over

He woke with a start. His body snapped to attention. He took a deep breath, immediately wishing he hadn't. The air in the room was stale, and smelt of desperation and fear. He forced his eyes to open, to take in his surroundings and work out what the hell had happened. As his eyes focused, he was annoyed to find that he couldn't remember a damn thing. There was nothing in the sparsely decorated room to give him any clues. And then he heard a movement from behind him, slowly getting closer. He shut his eyes, not wanting to alert whoever it was. He may not remember anything, but he knew that whoever this person was, he wasn't his friend.

"No use pretending sergeant, I know you're awake." the voice said coldly. "Now, how're you feeling? You've been unconscious for quite a while now. I was almost getting worried."

Smithy coughed, the action hurting his chest. He looked down to find that he was shirtless, and there were dark bruises blooming on his chest. And then suddenly his memory caught up. Cleaveland Road. Will had been hit by a car. Johnny had knocked him out. "Where's Will?" Smithy rasped, emitting another cough.

"Why're you asking me?" Johnny asked, moving to stand in front of Smithy. Smithy had never seen eyes so dark or so cold. Johnny's hair, which used to be pure black, was now speckled with gray streaks.

"Is he ok?" Smithy asked, not wanting to look into those cold eyes any longer than he had to.

"I don't know, nor do I care. Now, onto more pressing matters." Johnny said with a smile, pulling a chair up for him to sit down on.

"What the hell do you want?" Smithy hissed, trying to clear his head.

"I want the Dragon. I want Gina. I want her now." Johnny said bluntly.

"Well you can't have her. She knows it's you, and she knows not to come to you." Smithy said with a pleased tone to his voice.

"On the contraire Sergeant. She's going to guess that I'm the one who has you, and when she does, she'll do anything to make sure you're safe and alive. And that's the beauty of my plan. She always said that she wanted kids. I'm guessing she never got round to it." Johnny said, thinking.

"She won't come to you; she knows that I won't let her." Smithy argued. It was only then that he noticed he was tired to a chair, and the binding was biting into his wrists. And then it started to really hurt. He bit his lip, trying not to show pain to the sadist in front of him. But Johnny noticed. A smirk pricked the corners of his lips.

"Something bothering you Sergeant? Maybe that rope that you're tied up with?" Johnny snickered.

"Why did you do it?" Smithy asked suddenly.

"Do what?" Johnny asked, confused at the sudden conversation change.

"Kill Jess. Paralyse Sally. Strangle Beth. Run Will over." Smithy said, disbelief on his face that Johnny didn't know what he was talking about.

"Ah that. So the other blonde is paralysed is she? That's a shame. Well, young Smithy, the reason I did it was simple. To get back at Gina Gold." Johnny said, and Smithy noticed that when he said Gina's name, his face darkened and his hands automatically curled into fists.

"Those people didn't have to be hurt." Smithy said quietly.

"Yes they did. It was the only way. Now, I'm tired of talking and I'm tired of waiting. Let's give Gina a little call shall we?" Johnny said with a smile.

*

Gina was sat outside the operating theatre. Will had been rushed up there with a suspected bleed on the brain. The surgeons had told her that they would do everything they could, but the family should be notified. Gina had rung Will's father and brother an hour ago, but they would still be another hour at least. She thought that the attacks on her officers would stop now that they knew it was Johnny, but no, he still carried on. And when she thought of that, she thought of her missing officer, Smithy. Her team were already out looking for him, but she didn't know what she would do if Smithy was hurt, let alone if he was killed. Smithy truly was the son she never had, and if Johnny took that away from her, so help him. She jumped as her phone started to ring, and unknown number illuminated on the small screen.

"Inspector Gold." she said tiredly.

"What's up babe? You sound exhausted." a familiar voice said.

"Johnny! You let him go right now! I know you've got him." Gina cried into the phone, getting to her feet.

"'Fraid I can't do that. Anyway, me and Smithy here are having a right good time bonding, aren't we?" Johnny said.

"Johnny, please let him go. You want me, not him!" Gina begged. There was a pause, and then Johnny spoke.

"Finally, you've figured it out. It's you I want Gina, it's you I've always wanted. Now, listen carefully. I'm going to give you some directions. You follow them without getting your friends at the police station involved and I might reward them by letting Smithy go. You tell them where you're going, I shoot him. It's as simple as that. Now, which one you going for? Option A or B?" Johnny asked sweetly.

Gina shut her eyes, praying for a miracle, "Give me the directions. I'll be there as soon as I can." Gina said quietly.

"Good girl. I knew you'd make the right choice. Now listen carefully..."

*

"You've got to be a good boy when she gets here. Ok?" Johnny said, his face right in front of Smithy's. Smithy could almost taste the hunger radiating from Johnny's body, and it was that moment that he became seriously scared for his Inspector.

"She won't come alone. She'll bring cops with her." Smithy said with a defiant nod.

"Well if that's the case, she'll arrive here to find your brains blown out across the wall. And somehow I don't think she's gonna risk it." Johnny said with a wink as he crossed the room.

"What are you going to do to her?" Smithy asked, almost not wanting to hear the answer.

Johnny spun round, a thoughtful look on his face, "Well, I'm going to show her how it feels to have her heart ripped from her chest."

Smithy's blood drained, and he suddenly felt clammy. He needed to get free so that he could save Gina, "No you can't!"

"Oh but I can. And I will. You already know what I'm capable of, so don't push me." Johnny warned. He turned again, staring out the window.

"Bastard." Smithy said clearly. And then suddenly Johnny was in his face. He laughed cruelly.

"Tut tut. I told you not to push me." Johnny whispered. His hand curled into a fist, and he slammed his fist first into Smithy's gut, winding him, and then his fist came up hard, connecting with Smithy's jaw. All the wind exited Smithy's body, and he struggled to gulp down more air. Johnny flexed his hand, noting the knuckles which had broken from the force of the punch. He blew on his knuckles, wincing as his cool breath sliced across the cuts. "Now, I'm going to go collect my date. Back soon, be a good boy." And with that, Johnny left Smithy in the small room and left the house.

*

Gina stood in the basement car park, warily looking around. It was past one in the morning, it was cold, and she was alone. Her phone had been ringing ever since she had left the hospital; the Superintendent had been trying to get hold of her. She had left her phone behind a bin in the car park, hoping that someone would pick up the signal and get CCTV so they could find her and Smithy. As she was thinking that, a car pulled into the car park. A man got out, and Gina tensed. It was him. She could tell simply by the way that he moved that the man approaching her was Johnny Jackson.

He smiled a crooked smile at her, one that used to melt her heart once upon a time. "Well well well. If it isn't my fiancée."

"Johnny." Gina whispered, not quite believing that he was right in front of her, close enough to touch.

"So you do remember my name? That's nice. Now I'm afraid this might be a bit painful. I would apologise, but I'm not sorry for causing you pain." Johnny said coldly. Before Gina had a chance to react, Johnny had hit her round the head with a brick. He caught her before she hit the floor, and he lifted her into his arms and slid her into the back seats of his car. "Come on then, let's get you home."

*

"Gina! Gina come on wake up!" Smithy begged. Gina had been tied up to the chair Johnny had been sitting on earlier, and she was unconscious. Smithy could clearly see the huge cut on her head where Johnny had knocked her out with something; the blood had dripped right down her pale face.

"Would you quit it! I'm trying to think here!" Johnny said, coming into the room with a drink in his hand. "She'll wake up when she's ready!" Sure enough, ten minutes later, Gina began to stir. The first thing she did was try and touch her face, and that was when she realised she was tied up. The next thing she did was open her eyes, and her face crumpled into a smile when she saw Smithy in front of her. That smile quickly fled her face as she took in the state of him.

"Smithy...are you ok?" Gina asked, her voice coming out barely more than a whisper.

Smithy nodded, even thought it wasn't the truth, "Yes, I'm ok. How about you?"

"A bit of a headache." Gina laughed weakly. She twisted in her chair until she could see Johnny behind her. "Johnny, you've got me now, let him go."

"I'm sorry Gina. No can do. He knows that I've got you, and he knows where we are. It's just too risky. I don't want him returning with help before I've got the chance to finish you off now, do I?" Johnny said with a twisted smile.

"Come on Johnny, let her go!" Smithy called.

"Sorry, I'm not listening to you anymore. I only want to talk to Gina." Johnny said with a nod.

"Go on then, talk. I'm listening." Gina said quietly.

*

Callum slammed his fist against the desk. The team had found Gina's mobile hours ago, but they still couldn't find where she had been taken to. Blood had been found in the car park where her phone was discovered, and the conclusion that they had jumped to wasn't looking good. Callum was going through the CCTV again; sure that he had missed something. And then he saw it. He paused the tape, rewinding it and watching the upper left corner closely. There. The car that had been used to hit Will and abduct Gina and Smithy had just crossed the path of the CCTV. He took the CCTV out of the DVD player, sliding it into his pocket. From that CCTV still, Callum could get a partial index and finally piece together Jackson's movements. And then he could find Jackson himself. And then he could finally get revenge.

*

"This is deeply unsatisfying. I thought it would give me a better sense of enjoyment and accomplishment to finally have you here in front of me. But to be honest, killing and injuring your officers was more fun than actually having you here." Johnny said, sighing. Gina looked at him closely. He was truly insane. But underneath the insanity, she could recognise the man she had loved. And that terrified her.

"Johnny, please let us go. We won't tell, and you can get away." Smithy said for what felt like the hundredth time. Johnny leapt to his feet and was in front of Smithy before he had the chance to blink.

"I've just thought of something to alleviate my boredom." he said with gleam in his eye. He left the room, two sets of eyes following him.

"Ma'am, you need to get out of here. Are your ties loose enough to wriggle out of?" Smithy asked, pulling against his own bindings. Gina tried, she tried so hard, but there was no way she could get out of them. She shook her head.

"No. Listen, I've left a trace. I left my phone in the place he took me from; there should be CCTV that they can get something off." Gina said confidently. She looked at her officer, at his battered and bleeding body. "I am so sorry Smithy. He shouldn't have done this; he should have just come straight for me."

"Gina, it's not your fault. We're going to get out. Ok?" Smithy said, trying to reassure his friend.

"Ok." Gina said with a small smile. They heard footsteps approach, and Johnny re-entered the room.

"Miss me?" he asked cheerfully.

"You wish." Smithy spat. Smithy noticed that Johnny had a bottle of pure vodka in one hand and a knife in the other.

"You should stop being so rude to me Smithy, it won't get you anywhere." Johnny said coldly. He placed the bottle of vodka on the floor next to Smithy's chair, and bent down in front of Smithy. He made sure that Gina could see what he was doing. "Now, something to alleviate my boredom. Hold still now, I don't want to mess this up."

"Johnny! What are you doing?!" Gina yelled.

"I told you babe, I'm bored." Johnny said casually, raising the knife to Smithy's chest and pushing the tip gently against Smithy's bare chest. Smithy held his breath and tried to flatten his body against the chair, trying to get away from the knife. Johnny held the knife tightly in his hand, and began to slice Smithy's skin. Smithy howled in pain as the knife broke through his skin, as blood began to slide down his chest.

"NO! Johnny stop it!" Gina screamed, desperately trying to get free from her bindings so she could get him off Smithy.

"I haven't finished my message." Johnny chided, "Now be quiet." Johnny continued to carve at Smithy's skin. Smithy's howls of pain continued as the knife carved at his skin. And finally it stopped. Smithy couldn't breathe because of the pain, and his skin was slippery with blood. "There. Isn't that good!" Johnny stood back to admire his handiwork, and Gina looked in horror at what he had etched on Smithy's chest. The words _GAME OVER_ sparkled on Smithy's chest in the harsh lighting, the light sharply bringing into definition the cuts that were spilling blood.

"Oh my God." was all Gina could mutter. She didn't see Johnny pick up the vodka bottle, she didn't notice until he dropped the lid on the floor, "Johnny no, no no! You've hurt him enough, hurt me!"

Johnny laughed, "That isn't half as fun." Johnny winked at Gina before turning to face the bleeding Sergeant in front of him. "Now, this might sting a bit." And with that, Johnny poured the vodka on the open wounds he had just etched into Smithy's chest. Smithy's screams of pain echoed harshly in the room.

*

Callum stood outside the derelict house, hiding in the shadows. He could see one of the upstairs lights were on, the light shone through the flimsy curtain. And then he heard the pain ridden scream. Smithy. He grasped the knife tightly in his left hand, and began to proceed around the back of the house. He came to the back door and gingerly placed his free hand on the handle, pulling it down gently. It opened easily, allowing Callum access to the house. He slipped into the dark living room, moving around the furniture stealthily. He paused as he heard footsteps descend and move into a room at the front of the house. He took his chance and ran up the stairs, making no sound as he reached the room where Smithy and Gina were being held.

*

"Smithy! Smithy, talk to me!" Gina begged. The words on Smithy's chest gleamed at her, the vodka mixing with the blood to make a potent smell that made Gina want to gag. Smithy was barely conscious.

"Gina..." he managed to get out.

"Yes Smithy, I'm here. Come on, please, stay with me." Gina pleaded. She heard a sound outside the room. Johnny must be back. The handle to the room turned slowly and began to open.

"Gina? Smithy?" a voice said quietly.

"Callum?!" Gina said incredulously. Callum entered the room, eyes widening at the sight in front of him. He immediately moved to where Gina was, slicing apart her bindings with his knife.

"Listen to me, my car is parked around the corner; the phone is in the glove compartment. I'm going to get Smithy downstairs, but you're going to have to get him out the house. Go out the backdoor and round the side, stay in the shadows." Callum ordered, already hacking at Smithy's bindings.

"You'll be right behind us?" Gina asked, helping Callum pull Smithy to his feet.

"Yes. I'll secure Jackson, and you call the Super, tell him where we are. The address is with my phone." Callum said, grunting as he lifted Smithy over his shoulder, fireman style. "Be quiet, he's in the room at the front of the house."

"Thank you Callum." Gina said, relief finally washing over her. They may not be safe yet, but Callum was here now. Callum nodded, quietly following Gina downstairs. He followed her to the back door and gently set Smithy on his feet. Gina pulled Smithy's arm around her shoulder and started to walk the way Callum had told her. She looked behind her, seeing if Callum was following, but he had shut the door, and she heard the lock click. She was torn; should she go back and get Callum out, or get Smithy to safety and call in the troops? She decided there was safety in numbers, and went as quickly as she could to Callum's car.

*

Callum walked to the kitchen where Jackson was. He stood in the open doorway, just looking at him. He saw that Jackson was making a cup of tea. Tea! The murdering bastard had paused in his torture to make some tea. Callum would have laughed if the situation wasn't so serious. Jackson finished making his tea and turned around, dropping his tea in shock as he saw Callum filling the doorway. Johnny tried to figure out why he recognised Callum, and then it hit him. He smiled.

"Well, you're the other Sergeant. Sergeant Stone I believe. And you were the dead girl's boyfriend." Johnny said cruelly.

"Actually, I was her fiancée." Callum corrected.

"I assume that since you're here, Smithy and Gina are gone?" Johnny asked.

"You assume correct." Callum answered shortly.

"Well, seeing as I can't kill them, looks as if I'll be settling for you." Johnny smiled, in an almost courteous way.

Callum laughed bitterly, "You really don't understand do you?"

"No Sergeant I don't, enlighten me." Johnny replied.

"I am already dead. I died the night that you killed Jess. So sure you might think you're killing me, you might think you're killing another police officer, but you're not, because I am dead already. You can't have my heart." Callum hissed.

Johnny laughed snidely, "Aw, such powerful words coming from you, the gruff Sergeant. I'll do you a deal. I can let you see her again. I'll do it gladly. But just to let you know, she didn't fight back. At the end she was begging for death."

Callum immediately saw red, and he ran at the bastard who had killed Jess, who had paralysed Sally, who had tried to kill Beth and then Will. And now, he had tortured Smithy while making Gina watch. As he ran at the man, he whipped the knife out of his pocket, running with it aimed straight at the man's heart, "Let me enlighten you into what it feels like when your heart breaks." The knife plunged straight into Johnny's chest, cutting through the skin and muscle easily, piercing his heart. As the warm blood pooled out of his chest and down his top and onto Callum's hand which was still holding the knife in his chest, Johnny shoved Callum away with the last of his strength. Callum fell backwards, landing heavily on the floor. While Callum was on the floor, Johnny pulled something out of his waistband. As Callum was about to get up, a shot rang out, one single shot which echoed around the kitchen. Callum was dead immediately, the bullet splattering his brain across the kitchen wall.

"I win." the Johnny rasped, his final words, his final breath.


	9. Finally Home

**And we've reached the end. I have loved writing this story, this is perhaps my favourite one out of all that I have written. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you as always to Georgie, Hollie, Aileen and Jo for the supportive reviews. Enjoy!**

Gina had just managed to place Smithy in the car when she heard a shot ring out into the cool night. She froze, turning slowly to look back at the house where she had been held with Smithy. Only one light was on, and that was the kitchen one. She looked at Smithy, and then to the house, torn. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know if Callum was injured. She didn't know if Smithy was going to be ok. She just didn't know. She remembered that Callum had told her that his phone was in the glove compartment. She reached around Smithy, opening the glove compartment and grabbed the phone and address of the house. She dialled in the Superintendents personal line, praying that he would pick up quickly.

"Superintendent Heaton speaking." he said professionally.

"Sir, it's Gina, I need armed units with me as soon as possible. There's been a gun shot and I don't know if Callum or Johnny has been hurt. And Smithy is in a bad way so I'm going to need at least one ambulance as well." Gina blurted out, forgetting that the Super had no idea what was going on.

"Gina? Where are you?! Are you ok? We've got people out looking for you." the Super said quickly.

"I'm at 54 Woodland Road. Callum found me and Smithy and he let us go and sent us to his car. I've just put Smithy in the car, and I heard a gunshot behind me. I need SO19 as soon as!" Gina ordered.

"Alright, I'll get on to it straight away. Officers will be with you in less than 5 minutes. I'm glad you're safe Gina." the Super said in a relieved voice.

"Me too sir, me too." Gina said. Gina hung up the phone, taking a minute to just breathe. She placed the phone in her pocket and looked to the house once more. It was silent. There were no noises, no cries for help, and still no Callum.

"Ma'am?" Smithy mumbled, stirring in the seat. Gina's head snapped round and she turned and bent down next to Smithy.

"Smithy? Are you in pain?" Gina asked, and then realised that was a foolish question, "Of course you're in pain."

"Thank you." Smithy muttered.

"What for? It's Callum we need to thank. I'm so sorry Smithy. He shouldn't have done this to you. But you're ok; an ambulance will be on its way soon."

"Are you ok?" Smithy asked, turning slowly in his seat so he could look at her.

"I'm fine, don't you worry about me." Gina said with a smile, placing a blanket over Smithy's bare chest.

*

Ten police cars pulled in on Woodland Road in front of number 54, and the van containing SO19 wasn't far behind. The Super climbed out his car, walking quickly over to where Gina and Smithy were.

"Gina? Are you ok?" the Super asked, checking her over visually.

"Yes sir, I'm fine. Smithy is in a bad way though, where's the ambulance?" Gina asked, glancing over her shoulder at Smithy.

"Not too far behind. What happened?" the Super asked, leading Gina to his car so she could sit down.

"Johnny called Smithy and Will out on a false call. When they turned up he drove into Will and took Smithy. He rang me when I was in hospital with Will and told me where to go, and then when I went to the car park where you found my phone, he knocked me out and bought me here. Me and Smithy were tied up in the front bedroom. Smithy had been beaten up, and then before Callum showed up Johnny carved the words _Game over_ into his chest and threw pure vodka on it." Gina said in a rush. The Super just stood there shocked.

"Sir, ma'am, SO19 are ready to go in." Mel said, jogging over to them.

"Thanks PC Ryder." the Super said with a nod, following the eager PC. They waited at a distance from the house as the SO19 officers forced their way into the house, going into each room to find Callum and Johnny. They listened to the officers shouting that the rooms were clear, and slowly the officers filed out. Their Sergeant walked up to the Super.

"Well? Where's Jackson? And where's my Sergeant?" the Super asked.

"Sorry sir. There are two bodies in the kitchen. They're both dead." Sergeant Forrest said with a grim face.

"It can't be Sergeant Stone. It must be someone else." the Super said.

"You can come and ID the bodies then. But I warn you now; it's not a pretty sight. One of them has had their brain blown half way across the kitchen." Sergeant Forrest said. "Follow me." The Super followed Sergeant Forrest into the house, not sure if he wanted to see what was in the kitchen after all.

*

Smithy was taken to hospital not long after SO19 had found the two bodies in the kitchen. He was barely conscious because of the blood loss and shock, but he was in safe hands now. They had also been informed that Will was out of surgery, although it was still touch and go about his recovery. Gina had gone with Smithy to the hospital, determined to stay with him and make sure he was ok. Once Smithy's wounds had been treated and they had started him on a drip, he was moved onto a ward to recover. Gina was sat by the bed, reading, waiting for him to wake up.

"So were you ever going to tell me about the cancer?" Smithy said quietly, his voice hoarse. Gina looked up, startled.

"What?" she asked, playing dumb.

"You heard me." Smithy said, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

Gina paused, thinking through how to best answer him. "No I wasn't going to tell you. I wasn't going to tell anyone. I was just going to have my treatment quietly and get better, so then I wouldn't need to tell anyone."

"So you've been having cancer treatment and still been working at the same time?" Smithy asked, twisting in bed.

"Yes Dale, I am a woman, and I don't know if you've heard, but women can multi-task." Gina said, trying to make light of it.

"Gina, that's ridiculous! You need to take time off work so you can get rid of the cancer." Smithy said sternly.

"I'm not getting rid of the cancer any time soon." Gina said quietly.

"What?" Smithy questioned.

"The treatment isn't working. I've got to have more aggressive treatment to try and get rid of it. But if the chemo and radiotherapy don't get rid of it this time round, then there's nothing more they can do." Gina said sadly.

"Well you've got to fight it then. Live up to your nickname." Smithy said, almost ordering her.

"What nickname?" Gina asked suspiciously.

Smithy looked shifty, "Oh, I er, must be making things up, the medication you know."

"Dale." Gina said sternly, giving her best stern look.

Smithy crumbled under her gaze, "Ok, well, the relief call you..."

"Yes?" Gina prompted.

"The Dragon." Smithy finished quickly.

"The Dragon?" she asked, leaning back in the chair. Smithy nodded, waiting for her to explode. "Hmm, I like it."

"You do?" Smithy asked, seeing if she was being sarcastic or not.

"I do." Gina said with a smile. It was at that moment that a nurse approached.

"I'm sorry, but you have to go now. We made allowances so you could see he was ok, but you can't stay any longer." the nurse said apologetically.

"That's ok." Gina said to the nurse, who walked off. Gina turned to Smithy, "I'll be in to see you tomorrow, so be good!" She gingerly gave Smithy a hug, mindful of his bandages.

"Thanks ma'am." Smithy said with a smile. As Gina was about to walk off he called her, "You have to fight it. Tell the Super." Gina just nodded.

*

The Superintendent and Gina were stood at the front of the briefing room, facing the room full of officers. Nobody knew yet that Callum had been killed, and they weren't sure if Jackson had been killed either. They knew that Smithy was ok thank to word of mouth, but apart from that, they didn't know anything. The Super called for silence, and immediately the room hushed.

"As you can see, Inspector Gold was found and is now safe, as is Sergeant Smith. They were found by Sergeant Stone who spotted Jackson's car on CCTV and managed to track Jackson's movements to Woodland Road. Sergeant Stone entered the house and freed Inspector Gold and Sergeant Smith, sending them to safety. He told them that he would be right behind them, but when Inspector Gold turned round, he had re-entered the house. Now from then on the details are blurry. It appears that Sergeant Stone found Jackson in the kitchen and there was a confrontation between the two. Sergeant Stone stabbed Jackson in the chest, piercing his heart. It is thought that Jackson, using his remaining strength, pulled a gun from somewhere and shot Sergeant Stone. I am sorry to inform you that Sergeant Stone is dead." the Super said sadly. The room of officers sat in stunned silence. They couldn't believe that Jackson had killed another of their officers! Sergeant Stone no less!

"He fought to the end." Nate called from the back. There were murmurs of agreement.

"There's no way he would have let Jackson kill him first; he would have taken Jackson down with him." Ben said with a nod.

"He saved us all really, didn't he." Mel said thoughtfully. Because if Jackson had lived, he would have killed more officers for sure.

"He's a hero." Millie said simply.

"He said that if he ever got his hands on Jackson, he wouldn't let him get away alive. Jackson took Jess from him." Leon said, knowing how Callum had felt after losing Jess. Even though Natalie's death was a tragic accident, he sometimes wanted to kill the person who had cause that fatal crash.

"Yes he is a hero, and he will have a hero's funeral. He killed Jackson in self defence." the Super said. It appeared that was the story they were going to stick to, rather than the truth.

*

The day started like any other day. But it wasn't any other day. It was the day that Sergeant Callum Stone was to be laid to rest next to PC Jessica Hunter. It was the day that PC Sally Armstrong was finally released from hospital, and even though she was leaving in a wheelchair, she was grateful to be alive. It was the day that Sergeant Dale Smith was also being released, and although he would bear the scars on his chest for a long time, he was glad that his Inspector hadn't been severely hurt. It was the day that Inspector Gina Gold finally told Superintendent John Heaton that she had cancer and she would need some time off to fight the disease so she could return to work quicker. It was the day that most of Sun Hill police station turned out to honour their fallen colleague who had died a hero. As Callum's coffin was lowered into the dark, damp Earth, the people were silent, respecting their Sergeant and his passing. Flowers were dropped on top of the oak coffin, and people paid their final respects as the soil was shovelled on top. Smithy placed Callum's hat on top of the tombstone and inclined his head.

"Thanks Callum." he said quietly. As people started to walk away, Callum and Jess were left alone in the peaceful graveyard.

*

Gina sat propped up in bed, her glasses perched on the end of her nose reading a book. A knock on the door caused her to lose her place, and she sighed.

"Come in." she called. She took off her glasses, resting them on top of her book on her lap. Smithy entered the room, a smile on his face.

"Morning. How's it going?" Smithy asked, placing the flowers he had bought in a vase next to the bed.

"Same as normal." Gina said with a smile. She looked at the flowers, "Thanks for those. But you don't need to bring them every time!"

"They're not just from me! They're from the relief as well. Stop your moaning anyway." Smithy said cheekily.

"How's my replacement doing so far?" Gina asked, curious.

"He's...strict." Smithy said, his mouth curving into a smile.

"Stricter than me?" Gina asked, incredulously.

"Oh yes." Smithy said with a small laugh.

"Well, when I come back I better step up my game! How's Sergeant Masters feeling back in uniform?" Gina asked.

"She loves it; the team have really taken to her as their Sergeant. Of course they're still missing Callum, but it will ease over time." Smithy said quietly.

"Good, I'm glad things are still running smoothly." Gina said, although secretly she sort of wished things had just stopped working as soon as she had taken sick leave.

"It's not the same without you." Smithy said, placing his hand over hers.

"It wouldn't be, but that doesn't mean it's not as good. Anyway, you're due on shift soon, off you go. Can't have the acting Inspector being strict with you can we?" Gina said with a wry grin.

"Of course not. I think some of the relief will be coming to see you later; just thought I'd warn you." Smithy said with a chuckle.

"Well I won't be here." Gina said carefully.

Smithy's face fell, "What? Why?"

"Because I'm going home." Gina said with a beam.

Smithy's mouth dropped open and then transformed into a grin as he realised what Gina was saying, "The treatment is working?"

Gina nodded, "It's working. I'll still need to have chemo and radiotherapy, but I don't have to be here permanently. I can go home."

"That's brilliant! Wait until I tell everyone." Smithy said with a grin.

Gina just smiled before shooing him away, "Go on now, don't be late! Thank everyone for the flowers."

"Will do. Bye!" Smithy called as he left the room. Gina leant back into the pillows. She couldn't wait to be in her own bed in her own house. She knew she had to stay in the hospital for her treatment, but she was finally going to be home. And she couldn't wait.


End file.
